CSIST started a ramjet test vehicle program in 1994, and this project was later merged with the Hsiung Feng program. Flight testing of a prototype started in 2001. Operational testing and evaluation was started in 2004 and was completed by 2005, on board. The development and flight test program for the Yun Feng long range supersonic cruise missile was hidden within the HF-3's flight test program.
Design
Initial prototype versions of the missile used the design of an integrated rocket ramjet to achieve supersonic speeds. It uses a solid fuel main booster with two side-by-side solid-propellant jettisonable strap-on rocket boosters for initial acceleration and a liquid-fueled ramjet for sustained cruise. It also employs electronic counter-countermeasures capabilities allowing it to penetrate an enemy ship's defenses. The missile is cylindrical in shape and composed of three sections, namely guidance and control, warhead, and propulsion. The body has four inlet ducts and four clipped delta control surfaces. It used the inertial navigation system during mid-course navigation phase and active radar seeker at terminal guidance phase. The air intake design arrangement was reported to have been optimized for evasive maneuvering at terminal sea-skimming altitudes. The missile is designed to be capable of way-pointing and can be programmed to fly offset attack axes to saturate defenses. It is also capable of high-G lateral terminal "random weaving" maneuvers to evade close-in defenses. It also features an armor-piercing warhead which generates tremendous destruction after hitting the target. The warhead is equipped with self-forging fragments and in the weight class. It has a conventional warhead that is triggered by a smart fuze which directs most of the energy downwards, inside the target ship's hull. The missile is believed to have an operating range of with a possible maximum range of over 932 miles and a minimum range of 30 km. It can be deployed on ships and mobile trailers. The instructions for missile launch can be issued by a command and control system for different platforms and different paths leading to saturation of a ship's defense system. In February 2017, Taiwan revealed that it had increased the HF-III's range to.
Deployment
The missile was officially revealed on October 10, 2007 at a military parade in Taipei, Taiwan. It has now been deployed aboard the ROC Navy's La Fayette/Kang Ding-class frigate,, Jin Chiang-class patrol gunboats, and on road mobile tractor trailers. In 2019 Taiwanese PresidentTsai Ing-wen ordered the NCSIST to accelerate mass production of the HF-3 in response to increasing Chinese military power and bellicosity.
Misfire accident
On July 1, 2016, Chinchiang of the Republic of China Navy accidentally fired a Hsiung Feng III missile during a training exercise. The missile traveled a distance of about before it hit a fishing boat The captain of the boat was killed and three crew members were injured. The Taiwan Ministry of National Defense stated that the warship's commander, senior arms officer and missile launch control sergeant had all failed to follow standard operating procedure.
Popular culture
The plot of the thriller Ballistic by Don Pendleton centers on the theft of two HF-3 missiles by international terrorists and their recovery by a team of elite agents.
