After the crashes of an F-5E jet, which took off from Taitung Air Base in October last year, and an F-16, from Hualien Air Base in November last year, two F-5E jets from Taitung Air Base collided in midair last month, a tragedy that filled every Taiwanese with sorrow and regret.
It might be difficult for Taiwan to procure foreign military aircraft, but the lives of our brave pilots are priceless.
In addition to temporarily grounding F-5s for two weeks for a checkup, the air force should upgrade its training equipment and review its safety protocols to avoid further crashes.
The air force should better use flight simulator training and upgrade its ground-based training facilities.
Only after going through flight simulator training — such as virtual night flight missions and spatial disorientation scenarios, as well as using computers for flight stability — and passing a test should pilots be allowed to perform actual night flight missions.
The air force has purchased flight simulators from Lockheed Martin, the US maker of F-16s, and the National Chung-shan Institute of Science and Technology, but the companies are not specialized flight simulator developers, unlike Canadian Aviation Electronics or the Thales Group. As a result, there is still a gap between flight simulator training and real-life situations.
In addition, the US-based Defense News last month reported that the Airborne Tactical Augmented Reality System jointly developed by Red Six Aerospace and the US Air Force is nearing completion. While wearing a modified Gentex HGU-55 helmet equipped with the advanced augmented reality system, pilots in real jets can see virtual images of other aircraft.
The system even allows pilots to engage in various live exercises with ally or enemy planes, helping them to complete various training exercises, such as formation flying, midair refueling and dogfights, as well as air-to-land attacks and bombings.
In other words, this system is the best choice for future training.
The air force can also learn from civil airline companies by adopting the flight operations risk assessment system. The system integrates weather data, and pilot and airport information to assess and identify risk attributes before a flight.
It can be used to brief military pilots with a risk assessment analysis before training sessions. The system can enable pilots to have a precise grasp of weather conditions, and remind them of risks and potential response measures. This would ensure safer flight training.
Air crash records show that there is much room for improvement in terms of the air force’s safety management and training equipment. Before the country’s new advanced jet trainer, the “Yung Yin” (勇鷹) or “Brave Eagle,” replaces the F-5, the air force should seriously consider what it could do to avoid another tragedy.
The military’s training mission statement says that “a military exercise must be treated the same as actual war.”
Casualties are unavoidable when war breaks out, but safety should always be more important than training during a military exercise. Despite the importance of flight training, the nation can only maintain its military strength and pilots’ precious lives if it puts safety first.
Regardless of political stance, the public should support military reform and the necessary procurement of training equipment to enhance the country’s military strength.
Anderson Fu is a senior traffic manager at an airline.
Translated by Eddy Chang
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