The nation’s fleet of 12 Lockheed P-3C Orion maritime surveillance aircraft provides Taiwan with an effective deterrent against the growing size and threat of the submarine forces of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), the military said yesterday.
The P-3C aircraft on Friday formally replaced the aging Grumman S-2 Tracker fleet as the nation’s mainstay force.
The PLAN has nine nuclear-powered submarines, only five of which are actual attack submarines, and 54 diesel-electric submarines, this year’s US Department of Defense report on the Chinese military said.
Photo: CNA
The report estimated that the PLAN submarine force is likely to increase to between 69 and 78 boats by 2020.
The S-2 Trackers have been in service for more than four decades and their anti-submarine warfare (ASW) duties are officially being transferred to the P-3C planes, the military said.
Aerial ASW efforts are to be complemented by Republic of China Navy-operated Sikorsky S-70C anti-submarine warfare helicopters, as well as the aging Hughes MD-500 helicopters, a source said.
Photo: CNA
The military has been searching for successors to the MD500 helicopters, which have also seen 40 years of service, but has yet to decide on a candidate, the source said.
Fixed-wing aircraft can stay in the air longer than helicopters, can conduct searches further out to sea, fly at greater speeds and have a larger ordinance capacity, the source said.
By contrast, helicopters have greater mobility and faster reaction times, and are far more flexible regarding where they can land or take off from, they said.
The P-3C aircraft will form an effective deterrence to the rapidly growing Chinese submarine fleet, the source said.
In other news, the military hopes to close the gap between the navy and the PLAN with its indigenous shipbuilding program, the military said.
The acquisition of more diesel-electric submarines and a gradual strengthening of the navy’s surface and aerial anti-submarine capabilities are also under way, the military said.
Aside from the Keelung-class destroyers — the navy’s largest ships by tonnage — the Chiyang-class frigates are designated to conduct surface ASW patrols, a source said.
The Mingchuan-class frigates transferred to the navy this year would also have basic ASW capabilities, the source said.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
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PROXIMITY: Prague is closer to Dresden than Berlin is, so Taiwanese firms are expected to take advantage of the Czech capital’s location, the Executive Yuan official said Taiwan plans to boost cooperation with the Czech Republic in semiconductor development due to Prague’s pivotal role in the European IC industry, Executive Yuan Secretary-General Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said. With Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) building a wafer fab in the German city of Dresden, a Germany-Czech Republic-Poland “silicon triangle” is forming, Kung said in a media interview on the weekend after returning from a visit to Prague. “Prague is closer to Dresden than Berlin is, so Taiwanese firms are expected to take advantage of the Czech capital’s location,” he said. “Taiwan and Prague have already launched direct flights and it is
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