The air force yesterday established the Republic of China (ROC) Air Force Air Defense and Missile Command to better coordinate air defense operations.
Speaking at the formal establishment of the command at Tainan Air Force Base, Air Force Commander General Shen Yi-ming (沈一鳴) said the new command, which combines the Air Defense Artillery and Air Defense Missile commands, will allow the air force to better coordinate air defense command and control.
The new command, led by former air force command chief of staff Fan Ta-wei (范大維), eliminates overlap between different commands within the air force, thereby enhancing operational efficiency, Shen said.
Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
The new command has also shuffled personnel from the original two commands to establish five air defense brigades based on the needs of different combat zones.
The new command has control over a variety of air defense equipment, including the MIM-104 Patriot missile system radar, anti-tactical ballistic and AIM-7 Sparrow missile launchers, MIM-23 Hawk missiles and the Skyguard radar system.
In related news, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Thursday reiterated her administration’s commitment to increasing military spending and enhance combat preparedness so that the nation can continue to develop in an environment of peace and stability.
Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
Next year’s defense budget would be increased, Tsai said at a ceremony at the Ministry of National Defense, adding that the increase would provide more support to all branches of the military, especially those in remote areas.
The nation’s armed forces remain eternally vigilant even during peacetime and are well-aware of external military threats, Tsai said.
She acknowledged the ministry for improvements in combat training, military base infrastructure and equipment over the past year.
The ceremony honored 139 armed forces personnel, seven of whom were women, the largest number of female honorees in the nation’s history.
Taiwan has received more than US$70 million in royalties as of the end of last year from developing the F-16V jet as countries worldwide purchase or upgrade to this popular model, government and military officials said on Saturday. Taiwan funded the development of the F-16V jet and ended up the sole investor as other countries withdrew from the program. Now the F-16V is increasingly popular and countries must pay Taiwan a percentage in royalties when they purchase new F-16V aircraft or upgrade older F-16 models. The next five years are expected to be the peak for these royalties, with Taiwan potentially earning
STAY IN YOUR LANE: As the US and Israel attack Iran, the ministry has warned China not to overstep by including Taiwanese citizens in its evacuation orders The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday rebuked a statement by China’s embassy in Israel that it would evacuate Taiwanese holders of Chinese travel documents from Israel amid the latter’s escalating conflict with Iran. Tensions have risen across the Middle East in the wake of US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran beginning Saturday. China subsequently issued an evacuation notice for its citizens. In a news release, the Chinese embassy in Israel said holders of “Taiwan compatriot permits (台胞證)” issued to Taiwanese nationals by Chinese authorities for travel to China — could register for evacuation to Egypt. In Taipei, the ministry yesterday said Taiwan
Taiwan is awaiting official notification from the US regarding the status of the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) after the US Supreme Court ruled US President Donald Trump's global tariffs unconstitutional. Speaking to reporters before a legislative hearing today, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said that Taiwan's negotiation team remains focused on ensuring that the bilateral trade deal remains intact despite the legal challenge to Trump's tariff policy. "The US has pledged to notify its trade partners once the subsequent administrative and legal processes are finalized, and that certainly includes Taiwan," Cho said when asked about opposition parties’ doubts that the ART was
If China chose to invade Taiwan tomorrow, it would only have to sever three undersea fiber-optic cable clusters to cause a data blackout, Jason Hsu (許毓仁), a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator, told a US security panel yesterday. In a Taiwan contingency, cable disruption would be one of the earliest preinvasion actions and the signal that escalation had begun, he said, adding that Taiwan’s current cable repair capabilities are insufficient. The US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC) yesterday held a hearing on US-China Competition Under the Sea, with Hsu speaking on
RSS