Han Kuang showcases ROC military preparedness

2015/09/09

The annual Han Kuang military exercises kicked off Sept. 7 in multiple locations around Taiwan, putting the defense capabilities of the ROC armed forces to the test.

A total of 63 drills spanning aircraft and vessel deployment, joint combat operations, personnel training and war games are set to take place during the five-day event.

Maj. Gen. Zhong Shu-ming, director of the Ministry of National Defense’s Joint Operation Division, said the 31st edition of the exercises is the biggest in recent years. “Featuring six additional drills by the air force and five by the navy, this year’s Han Kuang boasts 69 new aircraft and an impressive lineup of next-generation weapon systems.”

These include the Cloud Leopard armored vehicle, homegrown stealth missile corvette Tuo Jiang and supply vessel Pan Shi, P-3C Orion antisubmarine aircraft, and locally developed unmanned aerial vehicles.

Highlights of the first day included a special operations drill in the outlying county of Kinmen by the army’s elite amphibious reconnaissance battalion, while joint landings by the marines and navy took place in southern Taiwan’s Pingtung County.

Air combat operations, deemed to constitute the backbone of counterattack measures, were undertaken by the air force in a series of limited-warning fighter jet scrambles in eastern Taiwan’s Hualien County.

Live-fire drills are set to continue Sept. 10 with an anti-amphibious landing exercise in northern Hsinchu County and an anti-airborne landing defense in central Taiwan’s Taichung City. President Ma Ying-jeou is overseeing these operations in his capacity as commander in chief of the ROC armed forces.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=234709&ctNode=2194&mp=9)