Air force Chief of Staff General Tsao Chin-ping (曹進平) confirmed local media reports that a US-made MIM-104F Patriot (PAC-3) missile fired during a drill early yesterday prematurely exploded before it hit the target.
Tsao said the air force and the military’s top research unit, the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology, were still investigating the cause of the explosion.
Local media reports said it was the first time a Patriot missile bought from the US had exploded on its own before hitting its target during firing tests that are conducted in Taiwan every two years.
Photo: Ann Wang, Reuters
Separately, the air force apologized to the Coast Guard Administration after one of its F-16 jets badly missed its target during a training session on Wednesday last week and dropped a bomb too close to a coast guard vessel.
An F-16V jet missed its target at sea and dropped a 907kg MK-84 bomb in waters near Pingtung County’s Jioupeng military base, Tsao told a regular briefing.
The bomb sent off a shock wave that affected a crewed coast guard vessel, although no casualties were reported, because the bomb landed several nautical miles from the vessel, he said.
Photo: Tsai Tsung-hsien, Taipei Times
The air force has apologized to the Coast Guard Administration and would punish the pilot, as well as his instructor, for failing to properly supervise the bomb drop drill, Tsao said.
Tsao’s apology came after local media reported on the incident late on Monday after several coast guard members complained on social media that they had to seek medical attention because of the shock wave caused by the bomb.
Tsao also confirmed that the air force has not listed a budget for the Beechcraft T-34C trainer replacement program.
The service life of the airframes of Taiwan’s T-34 fleet would not expire for many years and the requirements for their replacement has not yet been determined, he said.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of National Defense yesterday said reports that the navy overspent its ship fuel budget by NT$4 billion (US$125.25 million) were untrue, adding that the funds allocated for fuel would be increased to NT$11 billion next year.
Local media on Monday reported that the navy had exceeded its budget for fuel as it had needed to mount frequent sorties in response to aggressive ship movements by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy in waters around Taiwan.
The ministry has approved a NT$7.1 billion ship fuel budget for the navy, which has not been exceeded this year, Rear Admiral Chen Chun-chung (陳春忠), chief of the Material Readiness Section at the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Logistics, told a routine news conference in Taipei.
Should funding run out, the navy can apply to use available funding reserves in accordance with regular procedures, he said.
Additional reporting by Jonathan Chin
A Chinese freighter that allegedly snapped an undersea cable linking Taiwan proper to Penghu County is suspected of being owned by a Chinese state-run company and had docked at the ports of Kaohsiung and Keelung for three months using different names. On Tuesday last week, the Togo-flagged freighter Hong Tai 58 (宏泰58號) and its Chinese crew were detained after the Taipei-Penghu No. 3 submarine cable was severed. When the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) first attempted to detain the ship on grounds of possible sabotage, its crew said the ship’s name was Hong Tai 168, although the Automatic Identification System (AIS)
An Akizuki-class destroyer last month made the first-ever solo transit of a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force ship through the Taiwan Strait, Japanese government officials with knowledge of the matter said yesterday. The JS Akizuki carried out a north-to-south transit through the Taiwan Strait on Feb. 5 as it sailed to the South China Sea to participate in a joint exercise with US, Australian and Philippine forces that day. The Japanese destroyer JS Sazanami in September last year made the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s first-ever transit through the Taiwan Strait, but it was joined by vessels from New Zealand and Australia,
SECURITY: The purpose for giving Hong Kong and Macau residents more lenient paths to permanent residency no longer applies due to China’s policies, a source said The government is considering removing an optional path to citizenship for residents from Hong Kong and Macau, and lengthening the terms for permanent residence eligibility, a source said yesterday. In a bid to prevent the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from infiltrating Taiwan through immigration from Hong Kong and Macau, the government could amend immigration laws for residents of the territories who currently receive preferential treatment, an official familiar with the matter speaking on condition of anonymity said. The move was part of “national security-related legislative reform,” they added. Under the amendments, arrivals from the Chinese territories would have to reside in Taiwan for
CRITICAL MOVE: TSMC’s plan to invest another US$100 billion in US chipmaking would boost Taiwan’s competitive edge in the global market, the premier said The government would ensure that the most advanced chipmaking technology stays in Taiwan while assisting Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) in investing overseas, the Presidential Office said yesterday. The statement follows a joint announcement by the world’s largest contract chipmaker and US President Donald Trump on Monday that TSMC would invest an additional US$100 billion over the next four years to expand its semiconductor manufacturing operations in the US, which would include construction of three new chip fabrication plants, two advanced packaging facilities, and a research and development center. The government knew about the deal in advance and would assist, Presidential
RSS