The army has underutilized virtual and augmented-reality combat simulators meant to expand training and reduce costs, the National Audit Office said in its latest budget report.
Writing in a report as part of the government’s general budget, the office said that the army had 487 simulators, but many were underutilized or had been used inefficiently.
The Ministry of National Defense had justified the procurement of simulation devices by citing a need to improve weapons training without costly expenditures in ammunition and equipment wear and tear, the report said.
The army installed a number of tank simulators at the Northern Joint Simulation and Training Center and the Armor Training Command, both in Hsinchu County, it said.
The simulators were used 12 times for a total of 48 hours from 2018 to last year, it said.
The army’s two combat stress inoculation facilities and two adventure centers were utilized by military academies, as well as for examinations and testing, but not for the cited reason for their creation, which was training reserve units, the report said.
The Reserve Mobilization Leadership Training Center in New Taipei City has a 25m range for small arms marksmanship that cannot be used for rifle certification, which requires shooting targets at 175m, it said.
This has hindered advanced marksmanship training at the facility, requiring range officers to find ways to make up for the limitations of the facility, which could otherwise be augmented with the use of simulators, the report said.
The ministry has been notified that training resources must be utilized and units that lack access to simulators should be allowed to use those stationed with other units, it said.
Training standards for reservists need to be improved urgently, it added.
The first two F-16V Bock 70 jets purchased from the US are expected to arrive in Taiwan around Double Ten National Day, which is on Oct. 10, a military source said yesterday. Of the 66 F-16V Block 70 jets purchased from the US, the first completed production in March, the source said, adding that since then three jets have been produced per month. Although there were reports of engine defects, the issue has been resolved, they said. After the jets arrive in Taiwan, they must first pass testing by the air force before they would officially become Taiwan’s property, they said. The air force
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
STRIKE: Some travel agencies in Taiwan said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group tours to the country were proceeding as planned A planned strike by airport personnel in South Korea has not affected group tours to the country from Taiwan, travel agencies said yesterday. They added that they were closely monitoring the situation. Personnel at 15 airports, including Seoul’s Incheon and Gimpo airports, are to go on strike. They announced at a news conference on Tuesday that the strike would begin on Friday next week and continue until the Mid-Autumn Festival next month. Some travel agencies in Taiwan, including Cola Tour, Lion Travel, SET Tour and ezTravel, said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group
RSS