TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正) said on Tuesday (July 18) that Taiwan is looking to buy National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS) from the U.S., and he denied reports that Taiwan’s retired Hawk missiles would be sent to Ukraine.

Chiu said that after seeing the performance of NASAMS in Ukraine, Taiwan is considering purchasing the ground-based short to medium range air defense system, per UDN. There is still no formal notification confirming the weapons purchase, and more work needs to be done to secure the deal, according to Chiu.

In addition, Chiu denied reports that Taiwan’s retired Hawk missiles would be resold to the U.S. military to aid Ukraine. He said the missiles would be destroyed.

“We have absolutely no plans to sell or transfer the unused arms to any units or countries. After all, these military materials are highly sensitive, and we wouldn’t make such a decision," Chiu said.

A local media report quoted an unnamed source on Friday (July 14), who said the U.S. will repurchase decommissioned missiles it previously sold to Taiwan and provide them to Ukraine as part of a military aid package.

Jointly developed by the U.S. and Norway, NASAMS is a ground-based short to medium range air defense system that defends against drone, missile, and aircraft attacks. The U.S. claims they have had a 100% success rate in intercepting Russian missiles in Ukraine.