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Military model unit displays air combat skills

ROC Central News Agency

Taipei, Aug. 27 (CNA) An Air Force tactical fighter group, which has been named as a model military unit, showcased its combat readiness and capability Tuesday at an air base in Tainan, southern Taiwan.

During a media tour of the base, pilots from the First Tactical Fighter Group of the Air Force's 443rd Tactical Fighter Wing, performed a simulated bomb drop, using four locally developed aircraft.

It was the first time that such a drill by the Indigenous Defense Fighters (IDFs) was open to the media, according to the fighter group.

The pilots also displayed their combat readiness, showing that they can be in the air within five minutes of receiving an emergency deployment order, Air Force officials said. The fighter group has been chosen as a model unit of the year for the sixth time.

"It's our pleasure to be selected as a model military unit," Col. Hu Chung-wei, head of the unit, told the media.

Meanwhile, a project to upgrade the 443rd Tactical Fighter Wing's IDFs is expected to be completed by the end of this year, Hu said.

The IDFs are among Taiwan's main combat aircraft, which include French Mirage 2000-5 jet fighters and the U.S.-made F-16 A/Bs.

The Tainan air force base was the last leg of a two-day media tour organized by the Ministry of National Defense.

Earlier in the day, members of the local and foreign media visited a Marine Corps unit in Kaohsiung and on Monday went to an Army aviation unit responsible for helicopter maintenance.

Those three military units are among several that will be honored as model groups of the year at a ceremony in Taipei ahead of Taiwan's Armed Forces Day on Sept. 3.

It was the first media tour organized by the ministry since the death of Army Corporal Hung Chung-chiu, who collapsed and died July 4 after being thrown into a brig and subjected to strenuous exercises in extreme heat for days.

The incident sparked massive public protests and inflicted untold damage on the military's image and morale at a time when it was being converted into an all-volunteer force.

(By Elaine Hou)