The army plans to use advanced AH-64D Apache Longbow attack helicopters from the US as a weapon capable of executing offshore engagements, according to defense sources.
The plan would entail stationing the Apache's near the coast and having them meet the enemy at sea after enemy ships are spotted -- and destroy them as far away from Taiwan as possible.
The idea was the brainchild of former army commander-in-chief General Chen Cheng-hsiang (陳鎮湘), who became the director of the National Defense University on Feb.1.
It took shape during last year's Han Kuang No. 17 exercise, in which the army demonstrated the strike capabilities of its AH-1W Super Cobra helicopters and its older Bell OH-58D light observer helicopters against targets off the coast.
It was the first time that AH-1Ws and OH-58Ds were introduced to the public as weapon systems that it could deploy along the coast to defend against invading ships.
Encouraged by the effectiveness that their less formidable helicopters showed against sea targets, the army leadership became interested in buying the much more advanced and powerful Apache.
The tactic seems to be an embodiment of the "offshore engagement" defense strategy that President Chen Shui-bian (
Ironically, General Chen, one of the generals who wanted to retire after Chen Shui-bian won the presidential election in 2000, eventually embraced the defense thinking of a president he was initially opposed to.
Eleven Jan (
"An attack helicopter like the AH-64D could easily fall prey to anti-aircraft missiles or guns mounted on ships if it operates off the coast," Jan said.
"It is because the AH-64D cannot find a place to hide from enemy fire operating at sea. It will force the AH-64D into a showdown with enemy ships," he said.
"General Chen was very creative in working out an offshore engagement plan for the AH-64D. But the US military has never tried anything like it with its Apache-series helicopters," he said.
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