Taiwanese armed forces yesterday simulated an enemy advance into the Taipei area after a successful landing, while defending units practiced “hot refueling” helicopters on the ninth day of the Han Kuang exercises.
Most of yesterday’s training units were concentrated in northern Taiwan, with exercises testing combat troops in defending against an invading force while also repairing damaged equipment.
The army’s 601 and 602 Aviation Brigades, in Taichung’s Dongshih District (東勢) and New Taipei City’s Shulin District (樹林) respectively, carried out hot refueling drills.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
During the exercises, two UH-60M Black Hawk and two AH-64E Apache helicopters from the 601 Aviation Brigade flew along the Dahan River (大漢溪) before stopping at a riverside park in Shulin.
The drill involved simultaneously refueling and rearming a military aircraft with munitions while its engines were running, allowing the aircraft to quickly return to combat operations, the Ministry of National Defense said.
The practice requires an aircraft to complete hot-pit refueling and rearming within 30 minutes. This morning’s drill was completed in about 20 minutes.
Photo: Liao Yao-tung, Taipei Times
A similar drill was conducted in Taichung, featuring the army’s AH-1W SuperCobra attack helicopters.
Throughout the Han Kuang drills, the armed forces have shown off new equipment such as Hsiung Feng III (雄風三, Brave Wind III) extended-range missiles, US-made FIM-92 Stinger shoulder-fired missiles and a new scouting drone.
Meanwhile, the Matsu Defense Command’s Beigao Garrison Force simulated a scenario involving an attack on the power plant on Beigan Island (北竿), attempting to set ablaze the fuel tanks within.
Photo: AFP
The garrison defended the power plant, which is a primary backup for the power plant in Nangan Township (南竿), against enemy destruction, and aided firefighters and medical services with extinguishing blazes and transporting wounded people.
The exercise demonstrated the adaptability of military and civilian forces in combat situations, the Matsu Defense Command said.
The Republic of China Marine Corps’ 99th Brigade participated in urban warfare simulations, demonstrating the unit’s close-quarters combat capabilities.
Photo: EPA
The mission involved the marines moving from the south to the north of Taiwan proper, demonstrating their ability to operate across theaters.
The Marine Corps’ 66th and 99th brigades also assisted the military police to bolster defenses in Taipei and New Taipei City.
Meanwhile, the most prominent urban resilience drills started yesterday at 1:30pm in northern Taiwan — in Taipei, New Taipei City, Yilan County, Keelung, Taoyuan, and Hsinchu city and county. Similar drills have already been held in other parts of the country.
Air raid alarms and cellphone alerts sounded at 1:30pm, when all vehicles were required to stop and pedestrians ordered to seek shelter and follow directions from officials.
Public transportation continued to operate, but passengers were not allowed to leave stations.
Those who did not comply could face fines of NT$30,000 to NT$150,000.
In New Taipei City, police said that their urban resilience command team went to the Tucheng District (土城) Office, an MRT station and a supermarket to conduct air defense evacuation and shelter drills.
After the alarm, the team went to a water plant in Sansia District (三峽) to simulate disaster relief at critical infrastructure sites.
The region-wide cellphone alerts did not adhere to standard Taiwanese parlance and instead adopted phrasing more commonly used by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, local media reported.
The rendition of the word “missile strike” in the air raid drill warning was “dao dan” (導彈), instead of the Taiwanese military’s standard usage of “fei dan” (飛彈), per the Ministry of National Defense’s 10th edition of A Simple Dictionary on Rendering English Military Jargon to Chinese (新編國軍簡明美華軍語辭典).
The ministry had not yet addressed the matter as of press time last night.
Additional reporting by CNA, Aaron Tu and Wu Jen-jieh
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