The military in August took part in the multilateral exercise “Northern Strike” in Michigan, Japan’s Sankei Shimbun reported on Sunday.
More Taiwanese personnel than last year joined the exercise, the Japanese daily reported.
Former US ambassador to Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Tonga and Tuvalu Joseph Cella in September at a US House of Representatives Committee meeting confirmed that Taiwanese troops were training at the US National All-Domain Warfighting Center in Michigan.
Photo: Taipei Times
Taiwan sent ground forces to participate in the joint exercise led by Michigan’s National Guard, the Sankei Shimbun reported.
The number of attending personnel was more than last year, although the exact number was not specified, it added.
The exercise was held from Aug. 3 to Aug. 17, and more than 6,000 people participated, with more than 1,000 of them from outside the US, it said.
The goal was to enhance instant response and combat capabilities, and the training projects included defense against uncrewed aerial systems, which have increasingly been used in wars, the Sankei Shimbun said.
Former minister of national defense Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正) had said at a legislative session that the government never ceased exchanges with the US.
Both sides learn from each other to gain in-depth understanding of combat techniques, as well as command and control thinking and operations, he said.
In other news, the air force began its annual Tien Lung, or “Sky Dragon,” drills yesterday, following their postponement last week due to Typhoon Kong-rey.
The drills, which aim to test pilots’ air-to-air, air-to-sea and air-to-ground combat skills in the main fighters in the air force’s fleet — F-16Vs, Mirage 2000-5s and Indigenous Defense Fighters — are to run through Friday, a military source said.
The air force yesterday said the first day of exercises would focus on aerial interceptions and the use of its aerial gunnery target system.
The drills would simulate pilots scrambling their aircraft at short notice, identifying and firing missiles at targets, and conducting mock “dogfights” with enemy aircraft, it said.
Other portions of the five-day drills would include dropping practice bombs, launching infrared homing missiles, quickly outfitting aircraft with munitions and a shooting competition for military police, it added.
Additional reporting by CNA
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