The first three of nine CH-47SD Chinook medium transport helicopters that the army had ordered from the US were delivered to Taiwan last week and are now undergoing pre-deployment flight tests at a base in Tainan, defense sources said yesterday.
The three helicopters will join the army's airborne troops along with the remaining six -- which are scheduled to be delivered at a rate of two per month over the next few months.
The three helicopters are undergoing flight tests at the army's aviation command in Tainan County's Kueijen township.
They were flown to Taiwan last Monday by US military personnel from an undisclosed location near Taiwan.
The CH-47SD is the newest version of the Chinook family and the Taiwan military signed the deal in 1999. The deal is worth more than US$300 million, according to information available from the Web site of the Chinook manufacturer -- Boeing.
The new helicopters will replace three B-234 Commercial Chinooks that the army had bought in 1985. The B-234s were not very effective for the military's heavy-lift missions and had thus taken on the role as transport helicopters for government officials.
With the CH-47SDs, the army expects to acquire true heavy-lift capability. The B-234s claimed to have heavy-lift capability but the commercial version lacked the power of the military version.
An army official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the army also plans to use the nine new helicopters to develop the rapid-deployment capability of its airborne troops.
"The army is desperately in need of a rapid-deployment force. The CH-47SDs are just what we need to create this," the official said.
Besides heavy lift, the CH-47SDs can fly for long distances and the army plans to use them for carrying supplies to troops on offshore islands.
The CH-47SDs are equipped with advanced equipment such as warning systems against approaching missiles and enemy radar. It will also be equipped with missile-decoy equipment.
Eleven Jan (詹皓 ), chief editor of Defense Technology Monthly magazine, said that the army won't have to worry about lacking heavy-lift helicopters for the next one to two decades, because the CH-47SD can be used for a long period of time.
"The CH-47SD is superior to the B-234 mainly because it is so powerful. It can also serve much longer because it was manufactured according to military specifications," Jan said.
The nine CH-47SDs are expected to enter service soon after delivery because the army already has a number of pilots who have flown the B-234s, which are basically the same as the CH-47SDs in terms of flight control.
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