F-16 jets and C-130H Hercules transport aircraft are to take part in an emergency landing and takeoff drill next month held for the first time at a civilian airport, a military source said on Friday.
The drill, to be staged at Taitung Fengnian Airport, would be part of the live-fire component of this year’s Han Kuang military exercises from July 24 to 28.
It would be the first time this type of drill has been staged in the airport’s history since it opened in 1981.
Photo: You Tai-lang, Taipei Times
The purpose of the drill is to test Taiwan’s civilian airports and emergency landing strips to make sure they are capable of handling takeoff and landing missions during wartime, the source said.
The Hualien Jiashan Air Force Base and Chihhang Air Base in Taitung could be attacked by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army during wartime, so civilian airports would play a critical role for the military, retired air force lieutenant general Chang Yen-ting (張延廷) said.
Taitung Fengnian Airport was ideal for the exercises, as it would be difficult to practice such drills at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) or Kaohsiung International Airport given how busy they are, Chang said.
Taitung Fengnian Airport has a 2,438m runway, which is more than enough for an F-16 or C-130 to take off and land, he said.
The runway is only 400m shorter than the one at the Air Force Academy in Kaohsiung’s Gangshan District (岡山), he said.
The takeoff distance of a fully armed F-16V Block 20 is 535m, while it is 450m for a F-16V Block 70, Institute for National Defense and Security Research fellow Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲) said, citing foreign information.
The takeoff distance for a Mirage 2000 is about 503m, 500m for Taiwan’s Indigenous Defense Fighters and 1,090m for a C-130, Su said.
The landing distances for a F-16V Block 20 and Mirage 2000 are 810m and 610m respectively, he said.
The sole emergency landing strip on a provincial highway is a 2.26km section of Provincial Highway No. 1 spanning Jiadong (佳冬) and Fangliao (枋寮) townships in Pingtung County.
The other emergency landing strips are on three sections of the Sun Yat-sen Freeway (Freeway No. 1) in Tainan’s Madou (麻豆) and Rende (仁德) districts; in Changhua County’s Huatan Township (花壇); and in Chiayi County’s Minsyong Township (民雄).
The exercises involving the upgraded F-16V Block 20s have been planned because 66 F-16V Block 70s that Taiwan has ordered from the US are to be stationed at Taitung Chihhang Air Base, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous.
The Han Kuang exercises have been held annually since 1984 with live-fire and computerized war game components.
This year’s tabletop drills were staged last month.
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