Taiwan’s first combat wing of F-16Vs is to be officially commissioned in a ceremony at the Chiayi Air Base on Thursday, a military source has said.
At the ceremony, more than 15 fighter jets are to fly aerial maneuvers in formation, and a solo demonstration is to highlight the F-16V’s capabilities, the source said.
The Thunder Tigers would also put on an aerobatic performance, the source added.
Photo: CNA
The US-based Lockheed Martin and state-owned Aerospace Industrial Development Corp are upgrading 141 F-16A/B jets to F-16V jets at a cost of NT$110 billion (US$3.99 billion).
Taiwan has also purchased 66 F-16Vs from the US, which are to be delivered starting in 2023.
The air force has upgraded 42 of the F-16A/B jets to F-16V standards, the source said.
A ceremony for the upgraded jets was to be held at the air base in April, but it was postponed due to a domestic COVID-19 outbreak, the source said.
The core of the F-16V configuration is an active electronically scanned array radar, which provides multimode surveillance capability and has all-environment precision strike capability, an improvement over the F-16A/Bs, National Policy Foundation associate research fellow Chieh Chung (揭仲) said.
The multirole F-16V is highly maneuverable, as it integrates advanced capabilities, said Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a senior researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research.
The F-16Vs, regarded as having the same DNA as the advanced F-35 and F-22 fighter jets, will boost Taiwan’s air defense and combat capabilities, he added.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
WEATHER Typhoon forming: CWA A tropical depression is expected to form into a typhoon as early as today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the storm’s path remains uncertain. Before the weekend, it would move toward the Philippines, the agency said. Some time around Monday next week, it might reach a turning point, either veering north toward waters east of Taiwan or continuing westward across the Philippines, the CWA said. Meanwhile, the eye of Typhoon Kalmaegi was 1,310km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, as of 2am yesterday, it said. The storm is forecast to move through central
RSS