The Ministry of National Defense (MND) yesterday rejected criticism that it had chosen the wrong helicopters for the Ministry of the Interior’s disaster relief agency, saying that the equipment provided was not only superior to what had been requested, but could also serve as a significant reserve force in the event of war.
Former interior minister Lee Hong-yuan (李鴻源) said in his new book How to Make Taiwan a First-rate Country (台灣如何成為一流國家) that President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration displayed “a lack of thought” in assigning the National Airborne Service Corps (NASC) 15 UH-60M Black Hawks, instead of the AS365 Dauphin the Ministry of the Interior had asked for.
It would have been perfect if all the helicopters used by the NASC were changed to AS365 helicopters, but the decision to use Black Hawks was like giving someone a Ferrari or Rolls-Royce when they had only asked for a Toyota, Lee wrote in his book.
Lee said that maintaining a fleet of helicopters was too expensive for the cash-starved NASC, adding that he thought that Taiwan should follow the model of other small to medium-sized countries where the state outsources the maintenance of non-military helicopters to civilian companies and only purchases the company’s services in the event of a disaster.
“I made the suggestion when I was in office, but such suggestions and efforts have been for naught since I left office,” Lee wrote.
According to Lee, Black Hawks are military hardware purchased from the US, which is the only source of spare parts and technical knowledge for repairs. In addition to the maintenance and repair costs, the fuel cost for 1km of flight — NT$20,000 (US$626) — is too expensive for the impoverished NASC to sustain.
The AS365 helicopters could have achieved the same results for only a quarter of the price of the Black Hawks, Lee said. With a basic unit starting at NT$100 million, Lee added that there were additional costs incurred for dismantling the provided heavy weaponry and installing search and rescue equipment.
It is evident that no one did their homework and failed to brief the president with practical assessments, Lee said, adding that the problem was not isolated to helicopters.
The only way for Taiwan to become a first-rate country is to change the way the government operates, Lee wrote.
In response to Lee’s allegations, the MND said that the Black Hawks could be used for medical transportation and disaster relief, in addition to their intended use as gunships and airborne assault platforms. The ministry added that the US and Japan also used the helicopters in similar roles.
As a nation with expansive fishing areas and 258 mountains higher than 3,000m, disaster relief taskforces rely on helicopters capable of great speed, long-distance flight and long hover times, the MND said.
The AS365, which has a service ceiling of 2,438m and lacks night-time search and rescue capabilities, is only capable of carrying out search-and-rescue operations in a limited range from the nation’s coasts, the ministry said.
The Black Hawk is clearly superior to the Dauphin, and while it is used mainly for training, the Republic of China Air Force would be able to cooperate with the NASC on disaster relief work and include the helicopters in combat operations in times of war, the MND said.
Additional reporting by Tsao Po-yen
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