The military opened its Tien Kung Missile (Sky Bow) missile base in Sanchih, Taipei County, to reporters for the first time yesterday.
Cameras and tape recorders were prohibited in certain locations inside the base, such as near the missile launch area and control rooms.
"This base's existence is no secret anymore, but we have never really opened its doors before," Minister of National Defense Lee Tien-yu (
"We wanted to let people know more about what the base is about," a ministry official, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Taipei Times.
Air Force officers and soldiers at the base practiced missile drills despite the rainy weather.
The base, which used to belong to the Army, was first commissioned as an anti-airstrike missile base in 1960 and was equipped with Nike Missiles. When the Sky Bow system replaced the Nike system in September 1993, the base was then upgraded and control was transferred to the Air Force on Jan. 1, 2006.
Company Commander Captain Kao Shu-li (
"It takes us less than five minutes from locating an enemy [plane], to lock onto it and destroy it. The moment an enemy plane takes off from any airport on the eastern shore of China, it will immediately show up on our radar system," she said.
The Air Force did not confirm whether the Sky Bow system is capable of interfering with missile attacks.
Air Force Command Headquarters spokesman Lieutenant General Jason Liu (劉介岑) said the Chinese Air Force had recently increased its activities over the Taiwan Strait and thatconsequently the Air Force must increase training and acquire F-16 C/D Falcons as soon as possible.
"They [the Chinese Air Force] have purchased many state-of-the-art fighters recently, so naturally, they have increased their training over the Taiwan Strait," Liu said. "Even so, [Taiwan and China] would not challenge each other on a whim. Each side knows what the other is doing."
The Sky Bow radar system operates at a range of 300km, which makes it capable of reaching most airports on the east coast of China.
During the visit to the control room, there was no sign of Chinese Air Force activity.
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