The armed forces must lean into technology, institutional reforms and resilience to maintain their deterrence capabilities amid complex threats and a rapidly shifting geostrategic landscape, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday.
The military needs updated training methods, strategies, equipment and technology to bolster its asymmetric warfare capabilities, Lai said at an air force ceremony to promote generals.
Lai urged the military to initiate institutional reforms to facilitate the full integration of artificial intelligence and novel technologies necessary to wage asymmetric warfare effectively.
Photo: CNA
The air force is expected to improve its agility and adaptability to changing military conditions to enable a truly whole-of-society defense, while the determination to fight for free and democratic institutions must be ingrained in all Taiwanese, from military service members to civilians, he said.
The president congratulated Major General Chiang Ping-tsung (江秉璁) on his promotion and appointment as one of two deputy commanders of the Sixth Mixed Wing.
Chiang, a veteran C-130 transport aircraft pilot, consistently displayed exemplary leadership, calm professionalism and skill as a pilot in his many years of service, Lai said.
Photo: Taipei Times
In his new post, Chiang would contribute to the air force’s vital strategic airlift, air mobility and humanitarian operations, the president said.
The Sixth Mixed Wing, garrisoned at Pingtung air base, is a composite unit operating cargo planes, anti-submarine warfare platforms, and airborne warning and control systems. It is the only air force formation of its kind to have two deputy commanders, as it has a uniquely broad portfolio of missions ranging from strategic airlifts and tactical transport to monitoring the nation’s seas and airspace.
In other news, the navy said it would today decommission its only amphibious command ship, the ROCS Kaohsiung, an 82-year-old veteran vessel laid down in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in January 1944 during World War II and commissioned by the US Navy as the LST-735 in April that year.
The ship took part in the storied campaigns of Saipan, the Philippines and Okinawa, receiving four battle stars, the navy said.
Decommissioned in 1946, the ship was brought back in 1950 to serve as a minesweeper in the Korean War. It was renamed the USS Dukes County in 1955.
In May 1957, the US leased the ship to the navy, which renamed it the ROCS Chung Hsi (中熙). It was used as a supply and training ship, before it was retrofitted and renamed the Kaohsiung in 1961.
The first navy vessel to be named after a place in Taiwan, the Kaohsiung participated in numerous supply missions and amphibious drills throughout the years, the navy said.
In 2017, the ship was repurposed as a test platform for the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology to develop domestic weapon systems, it said.
The Hai Chien II (海劍二, Sea Sword II) missile, Hai Kung III (海弓三, Sea Bow III) missile, Sea Oryx (海劍羚飛彈系統) air defense system, Hua Yang (華陽) vertical launch system and an indigenous active electronically scanned array radar system were tested on the ship, it said.
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