The air force confirmed another missile glitch during a military drill in Pingtung County yesterday, a day after two MIM-23 Hawk missiles veered off course after they were launched at the same annual military exercise to test precision weapons.
The days-long exercise concluded at 11:20am yesterday at the Jioupeng Military Base (九鵬基地), the air force said in a statement.
“The air force will conduct a thorough review, as soon as possible, on all problems identified during the drill,” it said.
The statement came in response to a report by the Chinese-language Apple Daily earlier in the day that an Indigenous Defense Fighter had launched a Tien Chien (Sky Sword) II missile, but the missile failed to ignite and fell directly into the sea.
The reason for the incident is still under investigation, the report said.
The missile fell into the sea off the coast of southeastern Taiwan, a military source said.
Yesterday’s incident came after two MIM-23 Hawk missiles veered off course a day earlier. There were no reported casualties.
The two missiles were fired as part of an annual precision weapons drill conducted jointly by the army, navy and air force.
Due to fuel combustion problems, the missiles veered off course shortly after being launched and exploded within a restricted area, the air force said.
The Taipei City Government yesterday said contractors organizing its New Year’s Eve celebrations would be held responsible after a jumbo screen played a Beijing-ran television channel near the event’s end. An image showing China Central Television (CCTV) Channel 3 being displayed was posted on the social media platform Threads, sparking an outcry on the Internet over Beijing’s alleged political infiltration of the municipal government. A Taipei Department of Information and Tourism spokesman said event workers had made a “grave mistake” and that the Television Broadcasts Satellite (TVBS) group had the contract to operate the screens. The city would apply contractual penalties on TVBS
The lowest temperature in a low-lying area recorded early yesterday morning was in Miaoli County’s Gongguan Township (公館), at 6.8°C, due to a strong cold air mass and the effect of radiative cooling, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. In other areas, Chiayi’s East District (東區) recorded a low of 8.2°C and Yunlin County’s Huwei Township (虎尾) recorded 8.5°C, CWA data showed. The cold air mass was at its strongest from Saturday night to the early hours of yesterday. It brought temperatures down to 9°C to 11°C in areas across the nation and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties,
A new board game set against the backdrop of armed conflict around Taiwan is to be released next month, amid renewed threats from Beijing, inviting players to participate in an imaginary Chinese invasion 20 years from now. China has ramped up military activity close to Taiwan in the past few years, including massing naval forces around the nation. The game, titled 2045, tasks players with navigating the troubles of war using colorful action cards and role-playing as characters involved in operations 10 days before a fictional Chinese invasion of Taiwan. That includes members of the armed forces, Chinese sleeper agents and pro-China politicians
STAY VIGILANT: When experiencing symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning, such as dizziness or fatigue, near a water heater, open windows and doors to ventilate the area Rooftop flue water heaters should only be installed outdoors or in properly ventilated areas to prevent toxic gas from building up, the Yilan County Fire Department said, after a man in Taipei died of carbon monoxide poisoning on Monday last week. The 39-year-old man, surnamed Chen (陳), an assistant professor at Providence University in Taichung, was at his Taipei home for the holidays when the incident occurred, news reports said. He was taking a shower in the bathroom of a rooftop addition when carbon monoxide — a poisonous byproduct of combustion — leaked from a water heater installed in a poorly ventilated
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