The army is trying to develop a new cooperation mechanism with the air force for airdropping ground vehicles from C-130 transport aircraft, defense sources said yesterday.
The army wants to be able to move Humvee jeeps from one place to another via the C-130 in the shortest time possible.
It has bought in a small number of landing platforms for the Humvee to experiment with. Such an investment might sound ridiculous since the US-made Humvee has been in operation here for more than 10 years and the US military has airdropped ground vehicles such as the Humvee for years. However, the military here lacks such experience.
The army had planned to test drop a Humvee from a C-130 during the Hankuang No. 19 exercises held in Ilan County last month but the exercise was downsized because of the SARS outbreak.
The air force has not been very cooperative, however, in providing C-130s for practice drops because the planes are not in very good condition.
The combat readiness of the C-130 fleet has been declining in recent years due to overuse, including use as a passenger plane for the air force, sources said.
The planes are becoming increasingly costly to repair and maintain.
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