A navy pilot yesterday said that the navy's anti-submarine capability is low, and that it needs advanced aircraft to be able to complete its mission.
"The navy's current force of 26 S2T aircrafts is too old to detect China's advanced vessels and submarines," said S2T pilot Hsu Koei-jui (
The legislators called the press conference to urge the public to support purchase of 12 P-3C maritime patrol aircraft from the US -- one of three big-ticket items in a purchase that has been blocked for months by the pan-blue controlled legislature.
PHOTO: WANG YI-SUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
Hsu said that of the navy's 26 S2Ts, only 16 of the 40-year-old aircraft are usable. He said the average S2T mission lasts three hours. The aircraft has no air conditioning, no Global Positioning System (GPS) and few computer systems, and pilots have to operate the aircraft manually -- all of which makes for a high-pressure ride for pilots. Hsu said most S2T pilots consider the aircraft dangerous to fly.
A real admiral from the navy's air command, Ma Jien-chung (
Ma said that only sustained patrols using advanced maritime patrol aircraft such as the P-3C can detect China's submarines when they are underwater. Ma said the navy has calculated that if it procures US P-3Cs, those aircraft could used for more than 20 years.
Ma added the navy mainly patrols waters northeast, southeast and east of Taiwan, and that 12 P-3Cs are enough to protect the nation's waters.
Tang said that the navy's anti-submarine force -- which includes 26 S2Ts, eight 500MD helicopters and 18 S-70C helicopters -- is insufficient.
He said that the air force procured 32 used S2Ts in 1976, and that six of those aircraft crashed before it transferred the force to the navy in 1999. Tang said that the eight 500MD helicopters have been in service for more than 25 years, and that the age of such aircraft has resulted in accidents.
One 500MD helicopter crashed in Kaohsiung in January and a S70-C helicopter crashed into the sea last week, killing one officer. Two crew members are missing and presumed dead.
Tang said those accidents had devastated the families of pilots and crew members, and that the public should support purchases of newer aircraft to help raise the safety, Tang said, appealing for passage of the bill to purchase 12 P-3Cs.
Prosecutors in New Taipei City yesterday indicted 31 individuals affiliated with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) for allegedly forging thousands of signatures in recall campaigns targeting three Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers. The indictments stem from investigations launched earlier this year after DPP lawmakers Su Chiao-hui (蘇巧慧) and Lee Kuen-cheng (李坤城) filed criminal complaints accusing campaign organizers of submitting false signatures in recall petitions against them. According to the New Taipei District Prosecutors Office, a total of 2,566 forged recall proposal forms in the initial proposer petition were found during the probe. Among those
ECHOVIRUS 11: The rate of enterovirus infections in northern Taiwan increased last week, with a four-year-old girl developing acute flaccid paralysis, the CDC said Two imported cases of chikungunya fever were reported last week, raising the total this year to 13 cases — the most for the same period in 18 years, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. The two cases were a Taiwanese and a foreign national who both arrived from Indonesia, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Deputy Director Lee Chia-lin (李佳琳) said. The 13 cases reported this year are the most for the same period since chikungunya was added to the list of notifiable communicable diseases in October 2007, she said, adding that all the cases this year were imported, including 11 from
China might accelerate its strategic actions toward Taiwan, the South China Sea and across the first island chain, after the US officially entered a military conflict with Iran, as Beijing would perceive Washington as incapable of fighting a two-front war, a military expert said yesterday. The US’ ongoing conflict with Iran is not merely an act of retaliation or a “delaying tactic,” but a strategic military campaign aimed at dismantling Tehran’s nuclear capabilities and reshaping the regional order in the Middle East, said National Defense University distinguished adjunct lecturer Holmes Liao (廖宏祥), former McDonnell Douglas Aerospace representative in Taiwan. If
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) today condemned the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) after the Czech officials confirmed that Chinese agents had surveilled Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) during her visit to Prague in March last year. Czech Military Intelligence director Petr Bartovsky yesterday said that Chinese operatives had attempted to create the conditions to carry out a demonstrative incident involving Hsiao, going as far as to plan a collision with her car. Hsiao was vice president-elect at the time. The MAC said that it has requested an explanation and demanded a public apology from Beijing. The CCP has repeatedly ignored the desires
RSS