Navy conducts missile drill in waters off east coast
ROC Central News Agency
2013/09/26 18:34:59
Taipei, Sept. 26 (CNA) The Navy held a live-fire drill Thursday that included the firing of the surface-to-air Standard Missile-2 from a Kidd-class destroyer in waters off eastern Taiwan, six years after its previous firing of the weapon.
The firing of the missile from the Ma Kong was part of a drill aimed at testing the military's maritime combat capabilities. The exercise was opened to the media, which was aboard an accompanying 10,500-ton Kidd-class destroyer, the Suao.
In a simulated attack, the missile, which was fired at a location 60 nautical miles off the eastern county of Hualien, hit a target drone after about 80 seconds in the air, the Navy said.
The launch of the missile was delayed for about 1.5 hours due to adverse weather condition as the target drone initially could not be launched because of the high waves.
The weather also caused the military to cancel some parts of the exercise altogether, including the deployment of Air Force F-16 jet fighters and Navy fast-attack missile boats that were to have taken part in a joint air-sea exercise.
Thursday's launch marked the first time media personnel had been invited to watch the Standard Missile-2 fired from a Navy ship, according to Rear Adm. Wen Zhen-kuo, director-general of the Navy's Political Warfare Office.
Onboard the Suao, Navy personnel pointed out a decorative broom installed on the ship to commemorate the successful launch of a Standard Missile-2 in 2007, representing 'clearing all obstacles.'
The idea of hoisting a broom on a warship's masthead comes from the British Navy, which started the practice to indicate a 'clean sweep' of the seas. U.S. armed forces took up the custom as well.
Taiwan's Navy instituted the broom-hoisting because its Kidd-class destroyers were purchased from the U.S.
(By Elaine Hou)
ENDITEM/J/WH
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