The Ministry of National Defense has proposed a budget of NT$9.8 billion (US$313.3 million) for next year to purchase an as-yet-unspecified number of reconnaissance pods for the air force’s fleet of F-16 jets.
The F-16 jets are currently equipped with AN/VDS-5LOROP-EO pods, which were purchased under Project Feng Yen (鳳眼).
The new pods, said to be a derivative of the DB-110 pod, would alleviate strains on the air force’s maintenance of the current pods, the ministry said.
They would give the fleet greater range, reconnaissance capability at all flight levels, day and nighttime imaging capabilities, as well as live image transmission, it said.
They would also fulfill the air force’s needs, regardless of possible combat environment over the Taiwan Strait or during joint training exercises or peace time, the ministry said.
The air force also plans to allocate NT$1.9 billion to purchase and remodel five more Blackhawk helicopters from next year to 2023.
It currently has five Blackhawk helicopters capable of conducting nighttime search and rescue operations, but said it needs at least 11 helicopters with such capabilities for combat training, search-and-rescue missions and contingency purposes.
The purchase would allow it to rotate helicopters for training, battlefield support and civilian rescue missions, it said.
Meanwhile, research on a variant of the indigenous Clouded Leopard armored vehicle — bearing a 105mm gun — is to commence this year, the ministry said.
The ministry intends to research and develop, as well as manufacture, the variant’s turret by improving on the current design of the CM-11.
The research is to focus on how CM-11 turret is assembled and how the improved edition can be paired with the ministry-researched low-recoil gun.
It is to start with weapon systems planning this year, followed by system integrations and technical assistance next year, general testing in 2021, research and development evaluation in 2022 and combat trial assessment in 2023, the ministry said.
The project is estimated to cost NT$778.8 million and has been included in next year’s budget.
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
The Hualien Branch of the High Court today sentenced the main suspect in the 2021 fatal derailment of the Taroko Express to 12 years and six months in jail in the second trial of the suspect for his role in Taiwan’s deadliest train crash. Lee Yi-hsiang (李義祥), the driver of a crane truck that fell onto the tracks and which the the Taiwan Railways Administration's (TRA) train crashed into in an accident that killed 49 people and injured 200, was sentenced to seven years and 10 months in the first trial by the Hualien District Court in 2022. Hoa Van Hao, a
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
RSS