Military

Taiwanese observers to attend Black Dart counterdrone exercises in US

Taipei Times
Date: Sep 12, 2017
By: Lo Tien-pin and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with staff writer

Taiwan has been invited to attend the US military’s Black Dart counterdrone exercise in June next year, a Ministry of National Defense official said on Sunday.
Black Dart is a live-fire exercise held annually at Elgin Air Force Base in Florida where troops target drones, the official said on condition of anonymity.

Four Taiwanese military observers are expected to attend the exercise along with observers from other nations and compile a report on US counterdrone tactics for the military’s consideration, he said.

The first Black Dart exercise was held in 2002 and it became an annual exercise following the success of the initial event, with an increasing number of foreign nations invited to send observers, the official said.

Black Dart constantly updates its tactics and arsenal to keep abreast of the latest emerging threats, and US troops tested 55 countertactics in the exercises in 2015, he said.    [FULL  STORY]

Air force confirms another missile glitch during drill

Taipei Times
Date: Jun 24, 2017
By: Staff writer, with CNA

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.    [FULL  STORY]

Penghu gets ready for Han Kuang military drills

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-05-18

This year’s Han Kuang live-fire military exercises will get underway on May 25 on the

This year’s Han Kuang live-fire military exercises will get underway on May 25 on the offshore island county of Penghu. (CNA photo)

offshore island county of Penghu. The defense ministry completed the computer simulated portion of the nation’s annual war games in the first week of the month.

The director of defense ministry’s office for operations and planning, Lieutenant General Chiang Chen-chung, was asked if precision weapons will be used in the live-fire drills. General Chiang said drills using precision weapons will be held separately.

Meanwhile, the navy took delivery of two Perry-class frigates purchased from the United States over the weekend. The navy’s chief of staff, Lee Chung-hsiao, said the arrival of the two ships meets Taiwan’s current need for US-made frigates. The Obama administration had previously promised to make four of the Perry-class vessels available to Taiwan.    [FULL  STORY]

Military still searching for fatally misfired missile

The China Post
Date: May 10, 2017
By: By Joseph Yeh

Almost a year after a missile misfire incident that killed a Taiwanese fisherman last July, the R.O.C. military said Tuesday that it is still looking for the whereabouts of the Hsiung Feng III anti-ship missile that caused the deadly incident.

The incident occurred on July 1, 2016 when a 500-ton Chin Chiang patrol vessel (金江艦) located at Zuoying Military Harbor in Kaohsiung accidentally fired a locally produced Hsiung Feng III anti-ship missile, which hit a fishing vessel and killed the ship’s skipper.

Following the disaster, the Navy blamed Petty Officer 2nd Class Kao Chia-chun (高嘉駿), who allegedly failed to follow standard operating procedures. Superior officers were not present when the missile was fired — it was set to the wrong launch mode.

Billed as “an aircraft carrier killer,” the Hsiung Feng III supersonic missile has a range of over 100 kilometers. Developed locally, the missile is designed to maximize damage by penetrating an enemy vessel’s hull before exploding inside.
[FULL  STORY]

Tsai likely to preside over Han Kuang exercises next month

Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-04-23

This year’s Han Kuang Exercises – the military’s largest scale annual drills – are set to

Defense ministry spokesperson Major General Chen Chung-chi speaks about the upcoming Han Kuang military exercises. (CNA file photo)

take place next month. The defense ministry said Sunday that the plan is for President Tsai Ing-wen to preside over the exercises in person beginning on May 25. However, the ministry said that presidential office has yet to approve the itinerary.

As in the past few years, the drills will be divided into two parts: computer-simulated war games and live-fire exercises. The computer war games will take place from May 1-5, while the live-fire portion of the drills will take place from May 22-26.

This year the drills will simulate a potential conflict eight years into the future in 2025. That’s because China is expected to have three aircraft carriers in service by then, as well as stealth fighters and advanced missiles. By that time, Taiwan is hoping to have advanced F-35 fighter jets from the United States.    [FULL  STORY]

Air Force base commander apologizes over drug scandal

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/03/05
By: Lu Kang-chun and Ko Lin

Taipei, March 5 (CNA) The commander at the Ching Chuan Kang (CCK) air base in

SONY DSC

Taichung apologized Sunday for a scandal in which drugs were found on the base last month and some servicemen tested positive for drug use.

At a press conference on the air base, Major General Wang Te-yang (王德揚) said that as commanding officer he was taking full responsibility for the matter and had sent a letter of apology to the Air Force Command.

Wang said he also wished to apologize to the public for allowing drugs to tarnish the military’s code of honor.

The issue arose from the discovery of 53 small packets of drugs at different locations on the base on Feb. 27. In subsequent tests of the 2,303 servicemen on the base, eight people tested positive for drug use.    [FULL  STORY]

Suspected drugs discovered on air base

UPGRADE:A KMT legislator called on the president to consider upgrading ketamine to a Category 2 substance to allow for heavier punishments for users and dealers

Taipei Times
Date: Feb 23, 2017
By: Chen Wei-han / Staff reporter

Dozens of packages of suspected amphetamines and regulated substances were found

A guard inspects a vehicle at the entrance to Taichung’s Ching Chuan Kang Air Base yesterday. Photo: CNA

on the Ching Chuan Kang Air Base in Taichung, but an ongoing base-wide drug test has not identified any drug users.

Base patrol officers on Monday found 27 packages containing powdery and crystal substances and drug paraphernalia, the Ministry of National Defense said.

A preliminary analysis showed that the substances might be amphetamines and ketamine.

There are about 3,000 enlisted personnel and officers on the base, and 1,200 had taken urine tests as of yesterday, with 10 people initially testing positive, the base’s Political Warfare Office director Colonel Shih Sheng-te (施勝德) said yesterday.  [FULL  STORY]

Ministry unveils reserve troop program

WEEKEND WARRIORS:Reservists are to report for two days of training a month and a seven-day annual exercise, and could receive up to 53 days’ training per year

Taipei Times
Date: Dec 21, 2016
By: Chen Wei-han / Staff reporter

The Ministry of National Defense yesterday announced the introduction of a short-term

Ministry of National Defense spokesman Major General Chen Chung-chi takes reporters’ questions at a news conference in Taipei yesterday, as the ministry announced the introduction of a short-term voluntary reservist program. Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times

voluntary reservist program to re-enlist soldiers in a bid to maintain the armed forces’ combat readiness. It also lowered the criteria for physical fitness.

Starting next year, the ministry is to recruit people who have been discharged from military service for less than eight years on a one-year contract basis, the ministry said at a news conference.

Reservists are to be required to report for training two days each month, in addition to participating in a seven-day exercise each year, and could receive up to 53 days’ training per year, All-out Defense Mobilization Office Acting Director Major General Tsai Chung-cheng (蔡忠誠) said.

The ministry plans to recruit 123 reservists next year to serve in units in all branches of the armed forces, including an army mechanized infantry brigade, a navy underwater operations unit, the air force’s Air Defense Artillery Command, the Reserve Command and the Military Police Command.   [FULL  STORY]

Thunder Tigers roar again

The China Post
Date: November 27, 2016
By: CNA

p11aCNA — President Tsai Ing-wen, foreground, applauds during a performance by the Air Force’s Thunder Tiger Aerobatics Team in Taichung, Saturday. The performance drew a crowd of over 100,000 excited spectators and represented a triumphal return of the team after it suffered a fatal accident in 2014.    [SOURCE]

Defense ministry confirms new agency

NATIONAL FOCUS:The National Defense technology division is to facilitate public-private cooperation and eliminate the duplication of effort at a research institute

Taipei Times
Date: , Oct 12, 2016
By: Aaron Tu and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with staff writer

The Ministry of National Defense yesterday confirmed that it is to create a military technology research

Ministry of National Defense official Yu Yu-tang, who heads the Department of Resources Planning’s Technology Planning Division, speaks at a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Tu Chu-min, Taipei Times

Ministry of National Defense official Yu Yu-tang, who heads the Department of Resources Planning’s Technology Planning Division, speaks at a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Tu Chu-min, Taipei Times

establishment next year, saying that it would be similar to the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

Deputy Minister of National Defense Lee Hsi-ming (李喜明) first mentioned the program at the recent Taiwan-US Defense Industry Conference in Williamsburg, Virginia.

Yu Yu-tang (游玉堂), head of the Technology Planning Division of the ministry’s Department of Resources Planning, yesterday said that the division would be remodeled and upgraded to serve the national technology development role.

The division is to be remodeled as the National Defense Technology Division on Jan. 1 next year with a budget of NT$3 billion (US$94.9 million), and it is to be upgraded at some point to become the National Defense Technology Office, a special establishment at the departmental level, Yu said.     [FULL  STORY]