An air force general on Tuesday confirmed that a missile unexpectedly exploded midair during a test in Pingtung County earlier that morning, with the cause yet to be identified.
Military enthusiasts on Tuesday morning observed what they believed to be a test firing of two US-made Patriot II missiles from the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology Jiupeng (九鵬) base in Manjhou Township (滿州).
The first one appeared to detonate in midair, while the other fired successfully, the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) reported.
Photo: Tsai Tsung-hsien, Taipei Times
During a regular Ministry of National Defense (MND) news conference, air force Lieutenant General Tsao Chin-pin (曹進平) confirmed that an abnormality occurred while the military was testing “a kind of missile” at the base.
More investigation is necessary to determine the cause, he said, adding that he cannot comment further at this time.
The military regularly conducts live-fire exercises to test combat readiness and missile performance, Tsao said.
The results are recorded and analyzed regardless of outcome, he added.
The report comes nearly two weeks after a chemical blast at the same base injured four people on Aug. 3, one of whom critically.
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