Military Affairs

Army Sea Dragons receive badges of honor pinned to their chests

badge of Amphibious Reconnaissance unit pinned into flesh of chest
Military Affairs 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment ,

The latest recruits of the Army 101st Amphibious Reconnaissance Battalion had badges pinned to their chests after successfully completing a grueling training regimen dubbed “the iron-man road,” Saturday, February 23. The Ministry of Defense Youth Daily reported that seven trainees endured the 15-week course to finally have the Sea Dragon badge pinned through the flesh of their chests by their commander in Kinmen County. The specialist unit of the ROC Army was founded in 1949 with training and equipment provided

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Live fire exercise strengthens Taiwan’s anti-landing capabilities

thunderbolt 2000 missiles fired
Military Affairs 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

Live fire military exercises designed to strengthen Taiwan’s anti-landing defense capabilities kicked off the second day of a month-long series of military drills involving the ROC air, navy, and army forces. The exercise began before dawn on the coast of Taichung with a cardinal II UAV taking off to carry out joint surveillance. IDF fighters and Ching Chiang class (Jin-Jiang) patrol ships fired missiles at “enemy ships” off the west coast. Thunderbolt 2000 missiles and M110A2 self-propelled howitzers fired from

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New Frigates Strengthen Taiwan’s Anti-submarine Capability

President Tsai Ing-wen, MOD officials and navy troops and officers at Zuoying Naval Base
Military Affairs 
Phillip Charlier , ,

[Picture: Military News Agency] President Tsai Ing-wen attended a ceremony at the Zuoying naval base in Kaohsiung City this morning to commission two frigates designed to improve Taiwan’s anti-submarine warfare capability. The Mingchuan and Fengjia are Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigates formerly known as the USS Taylor (FFG-50), and USS Gary (FFG-51). The ships were purchased from the United States Navy under an agreement signed in 2014, and underwent a 2-year refit before sailing to Taiwan earlier this year. According to

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Crashed F-16 Flight Data Recorder Recovered after Month-long Search

flight data recorder of f-16 fighter aircraft that crashed in Taiwan
Military Affairs 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

New Taipei City Firefighters today located and recovered the flight data recorder of an F-16 fighter that crashed in a mountainous district near Keelung during annual military exercises, June 4. Fire Bureau search and rescue personnel have been searching the steep terrain of the crash site for more than one month in an attempt to recover the data recorder after the aircraft crashed into a mountainside, killing pilot Major Wu Yan-ting (吳彥霆), during a simulated stealth attack on the Port

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Fighter Plane Crashes during Military Exercise

missing F-16
Military Affairs 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

An F-16 went missing in a mountainous region of northern Taiwan this afternoon, and wreckage has reportedly been found by a hiker on a trail in the vicinity of Ruifang District. The single-seat F-16A (No. 6685) was one of two belonging to the 12th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron that took off from Hualien Airport at 1:09pm to participate in the annual Hanguang military exercise which began today. The fighter jets were heading to airspace above Keelung City when one of the

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Paratrooper in Critical Condition after Chutes Fail to Open

a paratrooper plummets after his chute fails to fully deploy
Military Affairs 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , , ,

A 26 year-old soldier remains in a critical condition this evening after his parachute failed to open during a jump early this morning, May 17. Commander Chin Liang-feng of the Taiwan ROC Army’s Aviation and Special Forces Command jumped from a C-130 airplane at 1,300 feet, during a practice session for the upcoming Han Kuang military exercises, at around 6:00am this morning, over the Chingchuankang Air Force Base in Taichung City. Chin’s main chute failed to open completely, sending the

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Defense Ministry Ramps-up Production of ‘Carrier-killer’ Ships

ROC Navy Tuo Chiang class stealth missile corvette
Military Affairs 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

[Cover picture: Ministry of National Defense.] The Ministry of National Defense announced today that it will speed up production of the domestically designed and produced Tuo Chiang class stealth missile corvettes. Defense Minister Yen De-fa (嚴德發) told the Legislative Yuan’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee that the MND will not wait until the first batch of three ships are completed before starting work on the second batch of eight. Construction of both orders will proceed concurrently beginning around 2

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US Defense Act Calls for Improving Taiwan’s Self-Defense Capabilities

US congress
Military Affairs 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment ,

The US Congress’ Armed Services Committee will review the draft National Defense Authorization Act for 2019 today, according to Voice of America Chinese language news service. The draft includes provisions to strengthen US-Taiwan military cooperation, expanding joint military training, arms sales to Taiwan, security cooperation, and high level military exchanges. The draft of the act, HR 5515, FY19 National Defense Authorization Bill, was released by Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry, May 7. Section 1243 – Strengthening Taiwan’s Force Readiness

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Military Drone Crashes Beside Elementary School

remains of UAV
Military Affairs 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

An unmanned aerial vehicle belonging to the Marine Tactical Reconnaissance Unit crashed and burned in grassland next to an elementary school in Pingtung County this morning. No injuries were reported. Students and teachers of the Pinghe campus of WuTan Elementary School in Taiwu Township were alerted to the sound of a crash and explosion at around 11:00am. Witnesses reported a fireball seen on the slope around 100 meters from the campus. Firefighters extinguished a fire caused by the crash. Naval

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“The Day a US Warship Docks in Kaohsiung is the Day the PLA Liberates Taiwan:” Ambassador

us navy ships
Military Affairs 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment ,

Chinese Ambassador to the USA, Minister Li Kexin, has told US lawmakers that proposed visits by US warships to Taiwan would violate the anti-secession law of China, and that the date of the first US warship’s arrival in Kaohsiung Harbor is the day China liberates Taiwan by force. Li told an audience of Chinese students and expatriates invited to a lecture in Washington DC, December 8, that he had made China’s position clear to US legislators after the US Congress

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Taiwan Scrambles F-16s as Chinese Bomber Approaches Air Defense Identification Zone

An Taiwan Air Force -16 intercepts a PLA H-6
Military Affairs 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment ,

[Photo: Ministry of Defense. Picture for illustrative purposes and not related to today’s incident.] Taiwan’s Air Force scrambled F-16 fighter jets to monitor a PLA Xian H-6 bomber aircraft as it approached Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone south of Point Eluanbi this morning. The Air Force stressed that there was no conflict between the two sides. However, civilian radio operators picked up a verbal exchange between the Chinese and Taiwanese pilots. When the Taiwanese fighter pilot requested the bomber pilot

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