Military to hold joint-forces live-fire missile exercise

ROC Central News Agency

2012/07/08 16:36:16

Taipei, July 8 (CNA) The military will hold a joint-forces live-fire missile exercise Monday in the southern county of Pingtung as part of its efforts to strengthen the country's defense capabilities.

The exercise will see the Air Force, Army and Navy launch various types of missiles to test their abilities to fend off opposing forces.

The weapons to be deployed include the Tien-Kung II ground-to-air missile, the Hsiung-Feng II anti-ship missile, the Maverick air-to-surface missile, the Tien-Chien II air-to-air missile and the Hawk surface-to-air missile.

Ministry of National Defense Chief of General Staff Admiral Lin Chen-yi will inspect the exercise at the Jioupeng military base in Pingtung.

The drill will exclude the U.S.-made Sparrow missile, which encountered misfires in January 2011 during an exercise inspected by President Ma Ying-jeou, military officials said.

Air Force authorities said they had not received a final report from Washington on the cause of the Sparrow problem, adding that they decided to exclude the missile from the military exercises out of safety concerns.

(By Elaine Hou)
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