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Navy warns planes are falling apart

The navy admitted yesterday that only a small percentage of its anti-submarine aircraft have been operational recently. The navy would like to retire the aging fleet, but has nothing to replace them with.

Navy chief of staff Vice Admiral Chang Wen-ping (張文平) said that only 23.8 percent of 26 of the S-2T anti-submarine aircraft in the service are operational.

The figure means that only six of the operational S-2Ts are capable of carrying out a mission, raising an alarm about the navy's anti-submarine capabilities.

"The figure was true only for three days [recently]. It comes as a result of an ongoing comprehensive check of all the S-2Ts for suspected generator problems. By Dec. 24, mission-capable aircraft of the S-2T fleet will increase to nine," Chang said, adding that the number will further increase to 13 by Jan. 20.

Chang made his remarks yesterday during a budget screening session of the defense committee in the legislature.

Chang revealed the poor condition of the S-2Ts, the only fixed-wing anti-submarine aircraft in the armed forces, as he sought for support from defense committee members for a proposed NT$1.43 billion allocation to buy spare parts for the aircraft next year.

"Except for these three days, we have kept the operation ratio of S-2Ts at 51 percent over the past 10 months. If we can get enough money next year, we can raise the operation ratio of the aircraft to 71 percent," Chang told the lawmakers.

"Actually we need more money than our proposal asks for," Chang said.

Despite Chang's persuasive efforts, committee members, following negotiations, still decided to cut the proposed allocation for the S-2T spare parts by NT$140 million.

KMT lawmaker Chou Cheng-chih (周正之), a retired general, said he doubts the navy needs to keep "so many anti-submarine aircraft that are in such bad shape."

A disappointed Chang expressed regrets over the committee's failure to fully support the navy's efforts to extend the service life of the aircraft, which are more than 40 years old.

"The NT$140 million cut will greatly affect our plans to keep the S-2Ts in normal operation conditions. It will kill us!" Chang told the Taipei Times.

"We wish to buy the P-3C from the US to replace the S-2T. We are still making an effort to talk the US into selling us the new anti-submarine aircraft," he said.

Air force chief of staff Lieutenant General Chou Wen-chung (周文沖) came to the navy's aid, telling defense committee members that it is very difficult to maintain operation of the S-2Ts under current conditions. The S-2Ts were in service with the air force beginning in the mid-1970s before being re-attached to the navy in July 1998.

"Taiwan is the only country in the world which is still using this type of aircraft. The aircraft is already out of production. We are not sure whether we can get the spare parts we need for the planes even if we are fully subsidized," Chou said.

Late yesterday evening, committee members also decided in a closed door meeting to cut NT$600 million from a NT$1.1 billion budget request for Harpoon missiles.

Originally lawmakers had been told that the NT$1.1 billion budget was to provide Harpoon missiles for Knox Class frigates, but later they learned that the navy planned to install the missiles on Chen Kung class frigates as well.

The decision enraged some lawmakers, who argued that it was ridiculous to use the Harpoon missiles to phase out the domestically made Hsiung Feng II missiles.
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