Jet flight training is to be extended past midnight from 9pm currently, the Air Force Headquarters said on Tuesday, as it seeks to improve pilots’ nighttime flying skills.
The first models and bases to implement the new training schedule are the Indigenous Defense Fighters in Tainan, Mirage 2000 jets in Hsinchu and F-16s in Hualien, according to notices sent by the air force.
The units on Tuesday called or messaged nearby residents to inform them of the change and apologize for the inconvenience caused by the noise.
Photo: Yu Tai-lang, Taipei Times
The headquarters announced the change in a statement later that evening and urged the public to continue to support the air force as it trains to safeguard the nation’s airspace.
Speaking to legislators on Wednesday, Veterans Affairs Council Minister Feng Shih-kuan (馮世寬) said that the air force used to frequently run training after midnight.
The minister said that when he was in charge of an air force unit in Tainan in 1993, the public requested that no jets take off after 9pm to avoid disrupting sleep.
However, residents have in recent years come to side with the military, understanding that the sound means the air force is engaging in important national defense tasks, Feng said.
The change comes as the Chinese military ramps up patrols near the median line of the Taiwan Strait and runs tactical drills to the nation’s southwest, day and night.
Chinese warships also frequently sail to the waters east and southeast of Taiwan proper, carrying helicopters that sometimes run drills.
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