Pilots of F-16V, Mirage 2000 and other jets have been participating in joint training at Hualien County’s Chiashan Air Force Base to bolster the military’s ability to engage in asymmetric warfare, military officials said yesterday.
Lieutenant General Sun Lien-sheng (孫連勝), deputy commander of the Air Force Command, said at the launch of the joint training earlier this month that such exercises would be held more frequently to gain an understanding of the limitations and capabilities of different military branches, and to determine what support they need to closely work with one another during wartime.
The goal is to enable Taiwan’s relatively smaller military to deter China from invading, Sun added.
Photo: Yu Tai-lang, Taipei Times
Military officials yesterday said that the lesson from Russia’s war in Ukraine is to build an asymmetric military force to stall, destroy or paralyze the enemy.
The air force is mostly asked to support other military branches’ missions, so joint training must first start with combat precision training for the air force, and then expand to include the other two branches of the military, they said.
To improve training for second-generation aircraft, the air force in 2001 commissioned the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology to develop the Tactic Analysis System (TAS), which was merged with the existing telemetry system.
TAS was modified and refined based on actual air force operations. It includes a mission display and control system, an airborne targeting pod and relay stations.
The TAS system has been upgraded to be used with the Air Combat Training Instrumentation System (ACTIS) targeting pod for military exercises, the officials said.
Aside from F-16Vs, Mirage 2000s and Indigenous Defense Fighters, Taiwan’s AIDC T-5 Brave Eagle trainer jet has also been equipped with the ACTIS targeting pod, they said.
The Brave Eagle’s test missions now include air-to-surface bombing, the officials added.
In other developments, the Ministry of National Defense last month began expanding the number of reservists nationwide, military personnel said.
New reserve brigades have been formed in Taichung, Kaohsiung, New Taipei City and Hsinchu County, they said.
A reserve brigade now consists of nearly 200 personnel, up from 24 under the previous policy, they said, adding that brigade commanders, battalion commanders and other important staff are on active duty.
The ministry is expected to form four more reserve brigades in the second half of this year and another 10 next year, military sources said.
Chen Wen-jia (陳文甲), a senior consultant for the Institute for National Policy Research, said that having reserve brigades in 18 cities and counties would help mobilize reservists, but “regulations governing the mobilization of reservists must be flexible.”
Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-funded Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said rules related to reservists are expected to be greatly improved.
Tropical Storm Gaemi strengthened into a typhoon at 2pm yesterday, and could make landfall in Yilan County tomorrow, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The agency was scheduled to issue a sea warning at 11:30pm yesterday, and could issue a land warning later today. Gaemi was moving north-northwest at 4kph, carrying maximum sustained winds near its center of up to 118.8kph and gusts of 154.8kph. The circumference is forecast to reach eastern Taiwan tomorrow morning, with the center making landfall in Yilan County later that night before departing from the north coast, CWA weather forecaster Kuan Shin-ping (官欣平) said yesterday. Uncertainty remains and
SEA WARNING LIKELY: The storm, named Gaemi, could become a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, with the Taipei City Government preparing for flooding A tropical depression east of the Philippines developed into a tropical storm named Gaemi at 2pm yesterday, and was moving toward eastern Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Gaemi could begin to affect Taiwan proper on Tuesday, lasting until Friday, and could develop into a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, it said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued as early as Tuesday morning, it added. Gaemi, the third tropical storm in the Pacific Ocean this typhoon season, is projected to begin moving northwest today, and be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday, the agency said. Today, there would likely
DISRUPTIONS: The high-speed rail is to operate as normal, while several airlines either canceled flights or announced early departures or late arrivals Schools and offices in 15 cities and counties are to be closed today due to Typhoon Gaemi, local governments announced last night. The 15 are: Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Tainan, Keelung, Hsinchu and Kaohsiung, as well as Yilan, Hualien, Hsinchu, Miaoli, Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Lienchiang counties. People should brace for torrential rainfall brought by the storm, with its center forecast to make landfall on the east coast between tonight and tomorrow morning, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The agency issued a sea warning for the typhoon at 11:30pm on Monday, followed by a land warning at 11:30am yesterday. As of
CASUALTY: A 70-year-old woman was killed by a falling tree in Kaohsiung as the premier warned all government agencies to remain on high alert for the next 24 hours Schools and offices nationwide are to be closed for a second day today as Typhoon Gaemi crosses over the nation, bringing torrential rain and whipping winds. Gaemi was forecast to make landfall late last night. From Tuesday night, its outer band brought substantial rainfall and strong winds to the nation. As of 6:15pm last night, the typhoon’s center was 20km southeast of Hualien County, Central Weather Administration (CWA) data showed. It was moving at 19kph and had a radius of 250km. As of 3pm yesterday, one woman had died, while 58 people were injured, the Central Emergency Operation Center said. The 70-year-old