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Air force prepared for new missiles

Three pilots yesterday stand in front of their F-16 fighter jets at an air-base in Chiayi after their team was named the best military unit of the year by the Ministry of National Defense. PHOTO: LIAO CHENG-HUEI, TAIPEI TIMES

Air force personnel are ready for the delivery of the advanced medium-range air-to-air missile AIM-120, which will arrive within the next few months, an official with the Chiayi-based F-16 fighter wing said yesterday.

It will take three and a half months to deploy the new missiles once they have been delivered because the air force has already sent a considerable number of F-16 pilots to the US to train in the use of the system, the official said.

When the pilots return to Taiwan they will pass on their training to colleagues, the official, who wished to remain anonymous, said.

As part of their US training, pilots will test-fire a number of AIM-120s. It was not immediately clear if the practise missiles are included in the air-force order.

The air force ordered 200 AIM-120C missiles from the US, but has been unable to receive them because of the US' insistence that the missiles could only be delivered to Taiwan once China acquires an equivalent air-to-air missile from Russia.

That proviso was swept aside after China took delivery of a Russian air-to-air missile system last year.

A top air force official said last month that delivery of the AIM-120s will be made in thhis month or next month.

Also yesterday, the defense ministry took members of the nation's media to visit a high-security artillery base in Kaohsiung County.

The artillery base is home to four eight-inch towed howitzers, which are the largest of their kind in the army.

The base, located on a 50m-high hill, is one of the most important tactical points in southern Taiwan.

The howitzers provide protection to Tsoying's navy base and Kangshan's air force base, two of the most valuable military assets in the region.

The base is scheduled to receive next year a new artillery system -- the M109A6 self-propelled howitzer.
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