The nation’s first combat-ready helicopter squadron is to be formed on Wednesday, the Ministry of National Defense said.
Placed under the command of the Taoyuan-based Republic of China Army 601st Air Cavalry Brigade, 29 AH-64E Apache attack helicopters, which would eventually form two squadrons, were inspected by Lieutenant General Huang Kuo-ming (黃國明) ahead of an official ceremony on Wednesday.
Of two planned squadrons, the second is to be established first, as its pilots, equipment and training have met the ministry’s standards after a series of tests, the ministry said.
Screengrab courtesy of the Army Command Headquarters
The squadron would be given separate insignia and gear to signify its role in independent operations, said a ministry official who declined to be named.
The first squadron is to temporarily serve as a reserve unit, the official said, adding that it has also passed all tests.
The first squadron is expected to be formally established by the end of the year, the official added.
The brigade has been upgrading its equipment and has proved that it has become a key contributor to the army’s defense strategy, regardless of mobility, firepower and precision strike capability, the official quoted Huang as saying.
Huang hopes military officers would take stock of the unique characteristics of other units and incorporate them in different strategies and tactics, thus making the army a strong and modern military force, the official said.
Ministry officials declined to comment when asked whether the brigade would invite its sister unit in the US Army, the Hawaii-based 25th Combat Aviation Brigade, to attend Wednesday’s event
The nation purchased 30 Apache helicopters for about US$2.5 billion under a deal announced in 2008 by then-US president George W. Bush.
One of the helicopters crashed in 2014.
TPP RALLY: The clashes occurred near the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall on Saturday at a rally to mark the anniversary of a raid on former TPP chairman Ko Wen-je People who clashed with police at a Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) rally in Taipei on Saturday would be referred to prosecutors for investigation, said the Ministry of the Interior, which oversees the National Police Agency. Taipei police had collected evidence of obstruction of public officials and coercion by “disorderly” demonstrators, as well as contraventions of the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法), the ministry said in a statement on Sunday. It added that amid the “severe pushing and jostling” by some demonstrators, eight police officers were injured, including one who was sent to hospital after losing consciousness, allegedly due to heat stroke. The Taipei
NO LIVERPOOL TRIP: Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting, who won a gold medal in the boxing at the Paris Olympics, was embroiled in controversy about her gender at that event Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-ting (林郁婷) will not attend this year’s World Boxing Championships in Liverpool, England, due to a lack of response regarding her sex tests from the organizer, World Boxing. The national boxing association on Monday said that it had submitted all required tests to World Boxing, but had not received a response as of Monday, the departure day for the championships. It said the decision for Lin to skip the championships was made to protect its athletes, ensuring they would not travel to the UK without a guarantee of participation. Lin, who won a gold medal in the women’s 57kg boxing
The US has revoked Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) authorization to freely ship essential gear to its main Chinese chipmaking base, potentially curtailing its production capabilities at that older-generation facility. American officials recently informed TSMC of their decision to end the Taiwanese chipmaker’s so-called validated end user (VEU) status for its Nanjing site. The action mirrors steps the US took to revoke VEU designations for China facilities owned by Samsung Electronics Co and SK Hynix Inc. The waivers are set to expire in about four months. “TSMC has received notification from the US Government that our VEU authorization for TSMC Nanjing
CHINESE INCURSIONS, SORTIES: President William Lai thanked military officers for shouldering the responsibility of defending the survival and development of Taiwan President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday said that aggression would inevitably fail, pointing — on the day before a mass military parade in Beijing — to the lessons from World War II and key victories Taiwan claims against Chinese forces in 1958. Taiwan has over the past five years repeatedly complained about heightened Chinese military activity including war games around the nation as Beijing steps up pressure to enforce territorial claims that Taipei rejects. Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), flanked by Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, are to oversee a military parade in Beijing today to mark the
RSS