Two IDF and two Mirage 2000-5 fighter aircraft yesterday made another fly-by over the Sun Yat-sen Freeway's "Jenteh Runway" in a practice run for the annual Han Kuang, or "Han Glory," military exercise, which will begin on July 21.
The air force sent the fighters to make the fly-by around 6am yesterday.
Since the area was not restricted during the exercise, many residents woke up early to try to find a good spot from which to watch the aircraft.
PHOTO: CHANG CHUNG-YI, TAIPEI TIMES
The IDFs made two fly-bys, while the Mirages made five. Air force officials said that they were completely satisfied with the practice run.
According to an air force officer who wished to remain anonymous, the four fighters flew by at the height of 180m, from the north to the south. But the aircraft did not touch down during the rehearsal.
He said that the Mirages are the bigger than Taiwan's other primary types of fighter aircraft, the IDFs and the F-16s. As a result, the Mirages were selected to carry out the mission during the military exercise.
"If the Mirages can make it, so can all the other fighters," he said.
In the meantime, pilots will have to land their fighters on the freeway without navigation systems during the exercise, since there is no navigation system at the Jenteh Runway.
"It will not be an easy task, since it takes a lot of skill and courage. But we will do it anyway," the officer said.
The Air Force General Headquarters yesterday said that its plan to land Mirage fighters on the Sun Yat-sen Freeway has nothing to do with recent media reports about evacuating President Chen Shui-bian [
"The allegation that the [the Chinese military] could attempt to kidnap or assassinate our government leaders first surfaced last month, but our plan to land the aircraft on the five runways on the freeway was made last year. These two issues are not related to each other at all," said Lieutenant General Liu Yi-tien (劉翼天), director of the warfare department of the Air Force General Headquarters.
‘NO SECURITY RISK’: The Railway Bureau reassured the public that the technicians’ activities were limited to technical guidance and did not involve sensitive systems The Railway Bureau yesterday said it had invited eight Chinese technicians to assist with an airport MRT construction project. The bureau issued the confirmation after an Internet user said Chinese nationals had entered the construction zone of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport’s Terminal 3 project. They asked why “individuals from an enemy state” were allowed access to such a major national infrastructure project, which raised serious concerns over Taiwan’s industrial safety, sensitive systems and information security. The bureau’s Northern Region Engineering Branch Office said subcontractor Taiwan Handle Industrial Co (台灣手把工業) of the Taoyuan airport MRT’s “Contract No. CU05 Project A14 Station Civil, MEP &
The National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology yesterday showcased its locally developed variants of the Vision 60 robotic patrol dog, which it plans to deploy on the nation’s outlying territories in the South China Sea. The variants were produced under the Joint Lab project — created by the institute and domestic companies — and assembled with domestically produced motors, lenses and artificial intelligence (AI) systems alongside licensed tech from the US, Missile and Rocket Systems Research Division deputy director Jen Kuo-kang (任國光) told the media event at a military base in Taipei’s Dazhi (大直) area. Taiwan has built up its strengths
TIT-FOR-TAT: The US allegedly revoked the visa of a Chinese national working at Xinhua News Agency in the US in response to Beijing’s expulsion of Vivian Wang The Presidential Office yesterday condemned China for expelling a New York Times correspondent from Beijing following the newspaper’s interview with President William Lai (賴清德), saying the move highlighted Beijing’s suppression of press freedom and its threat to international news media. Taiwan has noted a series of recent incidents in which Beijing used similar tactics to “threaten and pressure international media outlets and journalists,” Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said in a statement. “This concerns not only press freedom and freedom of expression, but also the safety of journalists, and Taiwan and relevant partners are paying close attention to the situation,” she
NOT IMMEDIATE: Taiwan has a chance to appeal the proposed 10 percent tariff before it starts, while other countries face a 12.5 percent tariff from the trade office Taiwan is among 60 economies determined by the US to have failed to impose or enforce a ban on the importation of goods produced with forced labor, according to a notice released on Tuesday by the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR), which proposed imposing an additional 10 percent or more tariff on them. The USTR in a statement said that following an investigation, it had determined under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 that the failure of the 60 economies to impose and effectively enforce a prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labor is
RSS