The armed forces yesterday launched a five-day series of computer-simulated exercises incorporating maritime patrol aircraft and attack helicopters that are scheduled to enter service over the next year.
The computer scenario, which simulates an attack from China and is part of the Han Kuang 28 series of military exercises, included P-3C “Orion” maritime patrol aircraft and AH-64D Longbow attack helicopters, among other platforms, to see how they would fare in a combat environment.
Taiwan has signed contracts with the US for 12 refurbished P-3C aircraft, which will provide a much-needed boost to the nation’s anti-submarine warfare capabilities.
The aircraft will replace the aging S-2T marine patrol aircraft.
The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force has used the P-3C to great effect in its efforts to monitor intrusions by foreign ships in its territorial waters and exclusive economic zone.
The military has also ordered from the US 30 AH-64D Longbow attack helicopters, whose main use will be for near-shore defense.
The first deliveries of P-3Cs and AH-64Ds are expected to begin within the next year.
The Ministry of National Defense confirmed that the exercise began yesterday, but did not provide further details.
However, defense officials said recently that the computer simulation would also include information and electronic warfare capabilities, two sectors in which US military officials are believed to be providing behind-the-scenes assistance.
Countermeasures to ballistic and cruise missile attacks, as well as unmanned aerial vehicles — all of which would likely play a role in the opening shots of war in the Taiwan Strait — will also be part of the exercise, reports said.
The five-day exercise, which involves the army, navy and air force, follows another five-day drill held in late April, which also simulated an attack by China.
The military also held a live-fire exercise at the Tri-Service Joint Training Base at Paolishan (保力山) in Henchun (恆春), Pingtung County, early last month following criticism that the exercises in April did not feature live ammunition.
Minister of National Defense Kao Hua-chu (高華柱) told the legislature recently that the military would incorporate lessons learned from this year’s computer-assisted war games into next year’s military exercises.
Additional reporting by AFP
Taiwan yesterday condemned the recent increase in Chinese coast guard-escorted fishing vessels operating illegally in waters around the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. Unusually large groupings of Chinese fishing vessels began to appear around the islands on Feb. 15, when at least six motherships and 29 smaller boats were sighted, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said in a news release. While CGA vessels were dispatched to expel the Chinese boats, Chinese coast guard ships trespassed into Taiwan’s restricted waters and unsuccessfully attempted to interfere, the CGA said. Due to the provocation, the CGA initiated an operation to increase
A crowd of over 200 people gathered outside the Taipei District Court as two sisters indicted for abusing a 1-year-old boy to death attended a preliminary hearing in the case yesterday afternoon. The crowd held up signs and chanted slogans calling for aggravated penalties in child abuse cases and asking for no bail and “capital punishment.” They also held white flowers in memory of the boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), who was allegedly tortured to death by the sisters in December 2023. The boy died four months after being placed in full-time foster care with the
The Shanlan Express (山嵐號), or “Mountain Mist Express,” is scheduled to launch on April 19 as part of the centennial celebration of the inauguration of the Taitung Line. The tourism express train was renovated from the Taiwan Railway Corp’s EMU500 commuter trains. It has four carriages and a seating capacity of 60 passengers. Lion Travel is arranging railway tours for the express service. Several news outlets were invited to experience the pilot tour on the new express train service, which is to operate between Hualien Railway Station and Chihshang (池上) Railway Station in Taitung County. It would also be the first tourism service
The Chinese military has boosted its capability to fight at a high tempo using the element of surprise and new technology, the Ministry of National Defense said in the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) published on Monday last week. The ministry highlighted Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) developments showing significant changes in Beijing’s strategy for war on Taiwan. The PLA has made significant headway in building capabilities for all-weather, multi-domain intelligence, surveillance, operational control and a joint air-sea blockade against Taiwan’s lines of communication, it said. The PLA has also improved its capabilities in direct amphibious assault operations aimed at seizing strategically important beaches,
RSS