Taiwan jets practise landing on motorway

Titlu: Taiwan jets practise landing on motorway
Sursa: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gTNy_gkF9S91IHi6F1G2aEkH3QXg?docId=CNG.8fcda49acdd6feab37caa2b17f3b1a60.861
Autor: Benjamin Yeh (AFP)
Data: 12.04.2011

Citat :

Taiwan jets practise landing on motorway




It reads "China, my mother"
Photo of the day: ROCAF's F-16
(sursa: http://china-defense.blogspot.com/)

TAINAN, Taiwan — The Taiwanese air force used a closed-off motorway as a runway on Tuesday in a rare drill simulating a Chinese surprise attack that had wiped out its major airbases.

The scenario for the exercise, which involved more than 1,300 soldiers, was a conflict with China in which aerial bombardment had paralysed major military airports, the air force said.

The exercise is part of a series of war games stretching over a five-day period and codenamed "Han Kuang 27", or "Han Glory 27".

"In today's scenario we assumed most of Taiwan's military airbases were severely damaged in an attack by missiles from the People's Liberation Army, and fighter jets could not return to their home bases," Colonel Lee Wen-yu, an air force spokesman, told reporters.

"Because of that we needed to convert some sections of the freeway to serve as emergency runways... and for that purpose, we need to check the standard procedures, like clearing up the road surface, setting up communications networks and installing plane arrest cables."

Six jets -- two F-16s, two Mirage 2000-5s and two Taiwan-built Indigenous Defence Fighters -- landed on a motorway near Tainan city, where they refuelled and loaded with missiles and other ammunition before taking off again.

The drill kicked off in the pre-dawn hours amid heavy fog and mist, but the officers overseeing the exercise eventually decided visibility was acceptable.

To ensure the planes could land safely, large number of soldiers were ordered to carry out a blanket search for stones or other small objects on the road.

Several cars also drove along the motorway, releasing high-frequency sounds to scare away birds that might be sucked into the turbines of the jets.

The backbone of Taiwan's air force consists of 60 ageing F-5s, 126 Indigenous Defence Fighters, 146 F-16A/Bs and 56 Mirages.

An AH-1W SuperCobra attack helicopter, an OH-58D Kiowa Warrior scout helicopter and a CH-47 Chinook transportation helicopter from the army were also mobilised for the manoeuvre, Lee said.

Taiwan conducted the first such exercise in 2004 and a second one in 2007, both while the anti-China Democratic Progressive Party was holding political power in the island.

Taiwan regularly stages war games simulating possible attacks by China, which still claims the island as part of its territory and refuses to renounce the use of force to take it back, prompting the island to continue its military modernisation.

Ma, the initiator of detente with the island's giant neighbour, said last week Taiwan was unlikely to engage in an arms race with China, but stressed that the island still needs a small and powerful deterrent to offset the mainland's military might.

Taiwanese experts estimate that China has more than 1,600 missiles aimed at the island and has recently deployed a new type of ballistic missile despite improving ties.

Taiwan has ruled itself since the end of a civil war in 1949. Tensions between the two former arch-rivals have eased markedly in recent years under the island's Beijing-friendly government.

Copyright © 2011 AFP. All rights reserved.

Titlu: Taiwan Military Stages Highway Landing, Takeoff Drill In Tainan
Sursa: http://defense-technologynews.blogspot.com/2011/04/dtn-news-taiwan-defense-news-taiwan.html
Autor: DTN News - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Taiwan Today
Data: 14.04.2011

Citat :

Taiwan Military Stages Highway Landing, Takeoff Drill In Tainan

**Six jets - two F-16s, two Mirage 2000-5s and two Taiwan-built Indigenous Defence Fighters - landed on a motorway near Tainan(台南) city, where they refuelled and loaded with missiles and other ammunition before taking off again.
The exercise is part of a series of war games stretching over a five-day period and codenamed 'Han Kuang(漢光) 27', or 'Han Glory 27', which involved more than 1,300 soldiers.



(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - April 14, 2011: The ROC military held an emergency landing and takeoff drill on a stretch of Freeway No. 1 near Madou District in Tainan City in the early morning of April 12 as part of the annual Hankuang exercises.

The drill simulated a wartime situation in which runways at airbases in southern Taiwan are destroyed by mainland Chinese guided missile attacks, according to the Ministry of National Defense. “In such an event, sections of highways that have been designed to accommodate military aircraft need to be employed,” said the MND.

The ROC air force’s three main jet fighters, the F-16, Indigenous Defense Fighter and Mirage 2000, took part in the one-hour drill. Other aircraft participating in the exercise included the CH-47 transport, OH-58D scout and attack, and AH-1W Super Cobra attack helicopters.

This marked the first time that the air force and army’s airborne and special operations unit have jointly taken part in such an exercise.

It was also the third landing and takeoff drill staged on Sun Yat-sen Freeway since it opened to traffic in the 1970s, following similar exercises in 2004 on a highway section near Rende District in Tainan and in 2007 on a stretch near Huatan Township in the western county of Changhua.

On April 11, the military held an anti-landing drill, also part of the ongoing Hankuang exercises, at the mouth of the Danshui River in New Taipei City, located about 10 kilometers from capital Taipei City. (SB)


The Taiwanese military have landed various craft on a motorway in an exercise simulating an attack on the country's airfields.

Various sections of the island's motorways are designed to be used as runways at short notice.