Taiwan has begun production of the Barracuda-500 cruise missile and has already unveiled the first completed unit. The missile was developed by the U.S. company Anduril Industries and was first presented in 2024.
Production volumes and plans are not publicly disclosed, but Taiwan aims to fully localize manufacturing and keep the cost of each missile under 6.5 million TWD (approximately $216,500), according to Reuters.
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The Barracuda-500 can travel over 500 nautical miles (more than 900 km) and carries a 45 kg warhead. While the warhead may seem small, it is sufficient to strike a wide range of targets.
Guidance is believed to be via GPS and an inertial navigation system, though details are not fully released. Reports indicate the missile may also be capable of attacking ships, suggesting it could be equipped with an infrared or autonomous radar seeker.
Barracuda-500 is designed for mass production and mass deployment. It is built with inexpensive materials, requires 95% fewer tools and 50% fewer parts than comparable missiles, and can reportedly be assembled using just a screwdriver and a wrench.
The missile is intended for launches from air platforms such as F-15E, F-18E/F, and F-16, or from cargo planes using Rapid Dragon pallets, including C-17s and C-130s, enabling large-scale saturation strikes against enemy air defenses.
Its speed as a missile makes it harder to intercept than drones, requiring more advanced and costly anti-missile systems to counter it.
For Taiwan, Barracuda-500 is a crucial weapon because it allows strikes deep into Chinese territory despite strong Chinese air defenses. The strategy focuses on overwhelming air defenses with numerous fast, low-cost missiles.
In addition to the Barracuda-500, Anduril Industries has developed smaller variants, the Barracuda-250 and Barracuda-100, which carry smaller warheads and cost even less.
It is unclear whether Taiwan will produce these smaller models or focus solely on the Barracuda-500. The U.S. Air Force is reportedly interested in acquiring more than 3,000 Barracuda-500 missiles.
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