TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan is advancing its space capabilities with plans to launch two sophisticated synthetic-aperture radar (SAR, 合成孔徑雷達) satellites, designated FORMOSAT-9 (福爾摩沙衛星九號), in 2028 and 2030 as part of a strategic initiative to bolster the island's surveillance of both territorial lands and surrounding waters. The Taiwan Space Agency (TASA, 國家太空中心), the island nation's primary space research and development organization, unveiled these ambitious plans during a legislative briefing on Wednesday (Jun 18), highlighting a key advantage of the SAR technology: its unparalleled ability to penetrate cloud cover and capture high-resolution images regardless of weather conditions — a critical feature for Taiwan, where persistent cloud coverage often hampers conventional optical satellite imaging.
During the legislative session, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP, 民進黨), Taiwan's ruling party, Legislator Lin I-chin (林宜瑾) emphasized the growing strategic significance of low-Earth orbit communication satellites for Taiwan's national security, particularly in light of recent incidents where China allegedly disrupted Taiwan's undersea communication cables, threatening the island's digital connectivity. Responding to these concerns, Deputy Minister Lin Faa-jeng (林法正) of the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC, 國科會), Taiwan's government body overseeing scientific research and development, provided assurances regarding Taiwan's progress in satellite communications technology, confirming plans to deploy six low-Earth orbit communication satellites in the coming years. Lin detailed that while the payload for the initial satellite would be sourced from international partners, the second satellite would feature domestically developed technology, reflecting Taiwan's push toward greater self-sufficiency in critical space infrastructure.
Another Democratic Progressive Party legislator, Chung Chia-pin (鍾佳濱), pressed officials on the development timeline for the FORMOSAT-9 (福爾摩沙衛星九號) program, seeking reassurance that the project remained on schedule amid Taiwan's complex geopolitical environment. Wu Tsung-hsin (吳宗信), a senior official from the space agency, addressed these concerns by reaffirming the planned deployment schedule, with the first satellite set for launch in 2028 followed by the second in 2030. Wu elaborated on the surveillance capabilities of the technology, explaining that Taiwan's SAR satellites would significantly enhance both land and maritime monitoring capabilities across the Taiwan Strait. He noted a particularly significant military application: with sufficient SAR satellites in orbit, Taiwan's defense forces could substantially improve their ability to detect and track small, low-profile vessels such as rubber boats potentially deployed by Chinese forces—a capability with evident implications for early warning of amphibious operations.
Expanding the discussion on surveillance technologies, Legislator Chung explored potential synergies between satellite systems and unmanned aerial vehicles, specifically questioning how SAR technology might be integrated with Taiwan's drone fleet to create a more comprehensive observation network covering the island and surrounding waters. The lawmaker also inquired about Taiwan's development of inverse synthetic-aperture radar (ISAR, 逆合成孔徑雷達), a specialized radar technology with distinct capabilities. In response, Wu highlighted ISAR's particular strength in generating highly detailed images of moving targets—such as vessels or aircraft—and committed to arranging technical consultations on the matter. The entire briefing took place during a special session of the Legislative Yuan's (立法院, Taiwan's parliament) Education and Culture Committee (教育及文化委員會), which had summoned officials from the National Science and Technology Council to present a comprehensive overview of Taiwan's current space technology initiatives and strategic roadmap for future development. ◼
