Three Black Hawk helicopters from the US were delivered to Taiwan yesterday and are scheduled to be put into service as rescue aircraft in March, the Ministry of the Interior said.
The UH-60M helicopters arrived at Kaohsiung Port as part of a US$3.1 billion arms deal that was approved by the US in early 2010.
Equipped with forward looking infrared night vision enhancement systems, the three Black Hawks are to be deployed in the National Airborne Service Corps (NASC), particularly for nighttime search-and-rescue missions at sea, the ministry said.
Yesterday’s delivery was the third batch in a fleet of 60 UH-60M Black Hawks in the arms package, which also includes two Osprey Class mine-hunting ships, 12 ATM-84L and RTM-84L Harpoon Block II Telemetry missiles, 114 Patriot Advanced Capability missiles, US$2.82 billion worth of technical support, 35 multifunctional information distribution systems (MIDS) low volume terminals and 25 MIDS on ships terminals.
Of the 60 Black Hawks in the package, 15 are to be given to the NASC to boost its search and rescue fleet of AS-365N Dauphin helicopters, while the others would go to the Army Aviation Special Forces in Guiren, according to the ministry.
A Black Hawk helicopter is capable of carrying 12 troops with equipment, airlifting a 4.1 tonne external payload and taking off with a maximum weight of 10.66 tonnes.
CARGO LOSS: About 50 containers at the stern of the ‘Ever Lunar’ cargo ship went overboard, prompting the temporary closure of the port and disrupting operations Evergreen Marine Corp, Taiwan’s largest container shipper, yesterday said that all crew members aboard the Ever Lunar (長月) were safe after dozens of containers fell overboard off the coast of Peru the previous day. The incident occurred at 9:40am on Friday as the Ever Lunar was anchored and waiting to enter the Port of Callao when it suddenly experienced severe rolling, Evergreen said in a statement. The rolling, which caused the containers to fall, might have been caused by factors including a tsunami triggered by an earthquake in Russia, poor winter sea conditions in South America or a sudden influx of waves,
The Ministry of Culture yesterday officially launched the “We TAIWAN” cultural program on Osaka’s Nakanoshima sandbank, with the program’s mascot receiving overwhelming popularity. The cultural program, which runs from Aug. 2 to 20, was designed to partner with and capitalize on the 2025 World Expo that is being held in Osaka, Japan, from April 13 to Oct. 13, the ministry said. On the first day of the cultural program, its mascot, a green creature named “a-We,” proved to be extremely popular, as its merch was immediately in high demand. Long lines formed yesterday for the opening
The Taipei Summer Festival is to begin tomorrow at Dadaocheng Wharf (大稻埕), featuring four themed firework shows and five live music performances throughout the month, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said today. The festival in the city’s Datong District (大同) is to run until Aug. 30, holding firework displays on Wednesdays and the final Saturday of the event. The first show is scheduled for tomorrow, followed by Aug. 13, 20 and 30. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Disney Pixar's movie Toy Story, the festival has partnered with Walt Disney Co (Taiwan) to host a special themed area on
BE CAREFUL: The virus rarely causes severe illness or death, but newborns, older people and those with medical conditions are at risk of more severe illness As more than 7,000 cases of chikungunya fever have been reported in China’s Guangdong Province this year, including 2,892 new cases last week, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday said it is monitoring the situation and considering raising the travel notice level, which might be announced today. The CDC issued a level 1 travel notice, or “watch,” for Guangdong Province on July 22, citing an outbreak in Foshan, a manufacturing hub in the south of the province, that was reported early last month. Between July 27 and Saturday, the province reported 2,892 new cases of chikungunya, reaching a total of 7,716
RSS