Taipei Times
Date: Jun 21, 2017
By: Lo Tien-pin and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with staff writer
The air force is to formally activate a squadron of Lockheed P-3C Orion aircraft in October after training
Taiwan’s last operational Grumman S-2 Tracker flies over a heavily forested mountainside in an undated photograph. Photo courtesy of the Air Force Command Headquarters
for ground personnel is completed and the last of the 12 aircraft ordered from the US are delivered next month, a Ministry of National Defense official said yesterday.
All 12 flight crews of the marine patrol squadron have completed operational training, while the squadron’s other elements are to complete training by the end of this month, including ground control personnel, said the official, who requested anonymity.
The official rejected earlier reports citing military sources that said the squadron would be activated soon after the last aircraft’s delivery next month.
It is more likely that the ceremony marking the squadron’s activation would take place near or during the Double Ten National Day festivities, the official said. [FULL STORY]
