air-force

Mirage fighter slips off runway after aborting takeoff

Mirage 2000 Taiwan ROC Air Force
Military Affairs 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

A Mirage 2000 fighter jet left the runway after the pilot aborted takeoff due to a malfunction warning light at Taichung Ching Chuan Kang Air Base this afternoon, and both pilot and aircraft are reported safe. Air Force Command confirmed by press release earlier this evening that a Mirage 2000-5 single-seater fighter performing a routine combat training mission was scheduled to take off at 2:00 pm, but when accelerating on the runway, a malfunction warning light suddenly lit up. The

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Body of fighter pilot found 27 days after crash

body of missing pilot found on rocks in intertidal zone
Military Affairs 
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The remains of a pilot who was missing for 27 days after the collision and crash of two air force F-5E fighter jets were found just 100 meters from Nanren Fishing Port in Pingtung County this morning, April 18. Captain Pan Ying-chun (潘穎諄) was one of two pilots who ejected after the two planes collided during a change in formation off the coast of Pingtung County, March 22. See previous story: One fighter pilot dead, one missing after mid-air collision

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An intense day of Chinese-US military maneuvers around Taiwan

USS Theodore exercises in the South China Sea
Military Affairs 
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US and Chinese military activity around Taiwan intensified April 7, with a US aircraft carrier group exercising in the South China Sea, a Chinese aircraft carrier group operating in waters east of Taiwan, a US destroyer transiting the Taiwan Strait, and Taiwan fighters scrambled against 15 Chinese aircraft entering Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ). The Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning, accompanied by a type 055 destroyer, two type 052 destroyers, a type 054 frigate, and a supply ship sailed though

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One fighter pilot dead, one missing after mid-air collision over ocean

location of missing pilots, search area
Military Affairs 
Phillip Charlier 1 Comment ,

One pilot has been declared dead after being airlifted from the sea, and one is still missing after two F-5E fighters collided while flying off the coast of Pingtung County this afternoon, March 22. According to the Ministry of National Defense (MND), four F-5E fighters of the 7th Flight Training Wing took off from Taitung Airbase at 2:30 pm on a routine training mission. At 3:06 pm two of the jets disappeared from radar screens around 2.6 kilometers from the

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Australian air force plane spotted operating over East China Sea

Royal Australian Air Force P-8A Poseidon
Military Affairs 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

A Royal Australian Air Force P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft was operating in airspace over the East China Sea today, according to a Chinese think tank that monitors aircraft movements in the area. China’s semi-official South China Sea Probing Initiative (SCSPI) posted a map of the aircraft’s flight trajectory on Twitter today, observing that is was “unusual to see an Australian P-8A operating over the East China Sea.” The Australian Department of Defense (DoD) announced the aircraft’s deployment in the

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Military drone crash lands in Taitung City park

crashed Teng Yun unmanned combat aerial vehicle
Military Affairs 
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A military unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) crash landed in Taitung Forest Park this evening, and the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST) says the cause of the crash was an error in the flight control system. The UCAV took off from the Chih-hang Air Force Base this afternoon on a test flight, and landed in a forested section of Taitung Forest Park at 6:33 pm, according to reports. There were no casualties, but contact with trees caused

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Salvage operation for crashed F-16 suspended until April-May 2021

Military Affairs 
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Air Force Command announced today that salvage operations for an F-16 that crashed off the coast of Hualien County will be suspended until April and May next year, due to poor weather and ocean conditions. The aircraft, carrying one pilot, went down around 13 kilometers northeast of Hualien City on November 17. See previous story: F-16 missing, suspected crashed off east coast of Taiwan The statement said that the location of the downed aircraft had been effectively calibrated after 56

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Pilot dies after fighter jet crashes off east coast

F-5E fighter, ROC Air Force, Taiwan
Military Affairs 
Phillip Charlier 1 Comment , ,

The pilot of an F-5E fighter jet died after ejecting from the plane off the coast of Taitung County this morning, October 29. The F-5E single-seat fighter of the Air Force Seventh Wing crashed into the sea shortly after taking off from the Taitung Chihhang Air Force Base at 7:30 am on a regular training mission. The pilot, Captain Chu Kuan-meng (朱冠甍) reported engine failure two minutes after take off, and ejected from the aircraft over the ocean. An Air

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Taiwan scrambles jets 17 times as China buzzes island in anger at US official’s visit

map showing incursions by PLA aircraft
Military Affairs 
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Jets were scrambled from air bases around Taiwan at least 17 times this morning after multiple incursions into Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) by Chinese military aircraft. The Chinese Communist Party has expressed its anger over the visit of US Undersecretary for Economic Affairs, Keith Krach, marking the highest level official to visit Taiwan since the US broke diplomatic relations in 1979. China’s Defense Ministry spokesperson Ren Guoqiang announced this morning that combat drills would be carried out in

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Taiwan’s defense and foreign affairs officials call China’s military exercises a provocation and threat to regional security

MND official shows Chinese military maneuvers on map
Military Affairs 
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Both the Ministry of National Defense (MND), and Ministry of Foreign affairs (MOFA), held unscheduled press conferences Thursday evening, September 10, in response to incursions into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ) by Chinese military aircraft for the second day in a row. The MND condemned China’s joint navy and air force military exercises as “provocative,” and MOFA called on international partners to pay attention to China’s “threats to regional stability.” MND officials revealed that China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA)

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Ministry of Defense confirms multiple incursions of Taiwan airspace by PLA aircraft

PLA fighter
Military Affairs 
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Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense (MOD) confirmed this afternoon that PLA aircraft flew multiple sorties into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone this morning. The MOD press release said that Chinese PLA aircraft included SU-30 and J-10 fighters as well as multiple other types of aircraft. The MOD said that the air force closely monitored the flights and responded effectively to the incursions. The MOD also denied that PLA forces had encircled the Dongsha (Pratas) Islands, saying that it was falsely reported

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