A formerly top-secret aircraft shelter hollowed out of a mountain in Taitung, eastern Taiwan, was revealed to the press yesterday.
The site is a smaller version of Hualien's Chiashan base and is capable of housing dozens of fighter planes. It was designed to preserve the air force's second strike capability during war time.
PHOTO: REUTERS
The aircraft shelter, in Taitung's Chihhang air base, was built several years ago to supplement facilities at the base -- which started operations in 1993 -- as part of the so-called "Chienan" project.
The opening of the site to the media was intended to demonstrate the air force's combat strength, which it routinely does in the lead-up to the Lunar New Year. Photographers, however, were forbidden to take photos of the site's outward appearance.
In Hsinchu, the 499th combat wing showcased scrambles by Mirage 2000 fighter planes and the manual fitting of Magic air-to-air missiles to a Mirage.
The 499th is the only combat wing of the air force that uses Mirage 2000 fighters and it has also been a training ground for air force leaders in recent years. Former premier and defense minister Tang Fei (
Tang's later success as both a military and political leader helped create a trend in the air force to look to the 499th wing, also known as the second wing, for its future prospective leaders.
For example, Lieutenant General Ke Kuan-yueh (
Meanwhile, at Taitung's Chihhang air base, it was shown how the problems of a shortage of combat pilots is to be solved through intensified training at its F-5E and F-5F training squadrons.
The F-5E and F-5F training squadrons prepare air force academy graduates before they fly fighter planes.
Base leaders said that, starting from February, a total of 64 fully trained pilots will be assigned in sequence to fighter wings comprised of second-generation fighters planes, including Mirage 2000, F-16s and the IDF.
One of the trainees, a captain who only be identified by his surname Mo, told the Taipei Times that one of the main factors slowing the supply of new pilots to combat units was the number of required training hours.
"We need to fly 400 hours as trainees before we can be accepted as combat pilots. To meet this requirement takes time. Although the training process is long, I think it will make us become more confident and competent as combat pilots," Mo said.
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)
EYE ON STRAIT: The US spending bill ‘doubles security cooperation funding for Taiwan,’ while also seeking to counter the influence of China US President Joe Biden on Saturday signed into law a US$1.2 trillion spending package that includes US$300 million in foreign military financing to Taiwan, as well as funding for Taipei-Washington cooperative projects. The US Congress early on Saturday overwhelmingly passed the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act 2024 to avoid a partial shutdown and fund the government through September for a fiscal year that began six months ago. Under the package, the Defense Appropriations Act would provide a US$27 billion increase from the previous fiscal year to fund “critical national defense efforts, including countering the PRC [People’s Republic of China],” according to a summary