The Ministry of National Defense has asked the US to allow Taiwanese fighter pilots to participate in air combat maneuver training against carrier-based aircraft to hone their skills in a maritime environment, a source said yesterday.
Taiwanese F-16 pilots have long trained at the Luke Air Force Base in Arizona, which has been selected by the US Air Force as a base for F-35s, meaning that the joint training program must be moved.
The Republic of China (ROC) Air Force each year sends a delegation to the US to evaluate the progress of pilot training and to advise the Air Force Command and the ministry on ways to improve the program, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous.
Photo: Reuters
Over the past two years, these reports have called for a greater emphasis on marine operations in light of Taiwan’s geography and the threat posed by China’s aircraft carrier program, they said, adding that the current training curriculum is focused on combat between opposing air forces.
The ministry has sent a formal request for the US to prioritize a military base near a coastline when selecting the program’s new location and to involve the US Navy when training Taiwanese pilots, the source said.
Ideally, the ministry hopes that Taiwanese pilots will train against the US Navy’s carrier-based aircraft, including but not limited to F-18s, the source said.
Training with the US Navy would enhance the ROC Air Force’s maritime warfare capabilities, facilitate the diffusion of naval warfare concepts and build teamwork for combined operations, the source said.
If the US does not agree, an acceptable alternative would be another base that houses heavy aircraft and possesses electronic warfare capabilities, which could be used for simulating wartime conditions, the source said.
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