U.S. helicopter sale to Taiwan to be finalized in May

The Defense News reported in a story from Taipei that representatives of the U.S. government and the helicopters' U.S. manufacturer, Boeing Co., will arrive in Taipei in May to wrap up the deal.

The weekly said that although there had been speculation that Beijing might force Boeing to cancel or delay the sale, the deal, announced by the U.S. in 2008, is expected to remain in place.

It quoted Rupert Hammond-Chambers, president of the U.S.-Taiwan Business Council, as saying that the Apaches, to be equipped with Stinger Block I air-to-air missiles and AGM-114L Longbow Hellfire air-to-surface missiles, will begin to arrive in Taiwan between the end of 2012 and the beginning of 2013.

The helicopters were originally offered by the United States to Taiwan in 2002, but the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency did not formally notify Congress of the sale until October 2008.

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