The military has deployed nearly 100 satellite communication-capable vans as part of its effort to enhance its command, control, communication, computer, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities, according to defense sources.
Most of these vehicles are utilized by the army. The air force and navy presently use only a small number.
Army general headquarters confirmed yesterday that the vehicles have entered service, but declined to provide any further information.
A local television station reported yesterday that the vans are satellite news-gathering cars widely used by TV stations for live broadcasts.
The Ministry of National Defense denied that the vehicles have such capabilities. It said the vans are to be used only for wireless communication purposes.
But in a calendar for next year published by the army general headquarters, a photo of the parabolic antenna mounted on top of one of the vehicles shows that it is indeed very much like a satellite news-gathering van.
"The vehicles are indeed capable of commercial applications. Their main purpose is to provide reliable and unstoppable communication at times of emergency, such as after an earthquake," said an official with the ministry, who preferred not to be identified.
"We have been working on plans to build an island-wide communication network since the Sept. 21 earthquake two years ago. We experienced at that time how desperate we were to have a communication network that was unaffected by natural disaster," the official said.
"Although we used a satellite communication system during the post-earthquake search and rescue period, the costs were far too high for us to afford it on a long-term basis," he said.
"The communication vehicles we have introduced into the services can provide reliable -- but much cheaper -- communication to any part of the island."
The vehicles were assembled in Taiwan by local car manufacturers from Japanese parts.
The vehicle is said to be capable of transmitting only audio data, mainly voice communication between users, via satellite or more conventional means.
The users could be ground officers, helicopter or fighter plane pilots, or naval-ship commanders.
They could provide a basis for a rudimentary command, control and communication system.
An army official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the military's long-term goal is to integrate satellite communication-capable vehicles into the command-and-control system now under construction.
"The communication vehicles can be upgraded to have image-transmission capabilities. It all depends on our needs. For the moment, we only need the vehicles to provide a communications network," the official said.
Some of the vehicles were originally intended for use as live broadcast platforms for the general political warfare department, which had planned to establish an independent military TV station.
The TV station plan was aborted due to a failure to procure a broadcast frequency for its use.
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