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Newly arrived Apache helicopters to be shipped to base by road

ROC Central News Agency

2014/01/06 19:20:17

Kaohsiung, Jan. 6 (CNA) Six AH-64E Apache attack helicopters, the second batch of a 30-unit deal with the United States to be shipped to Taiwan, will be transported by truck from Kaohsiung Harbor to a military base in Tainan Jan. 7-8.

The helicopters, which will be transported in two shipments over the two days, will be assembled at the Kueijen base, home to the Army Aviation Special Forces, according to the base command.

Sixty police and military police personnel will escort the shipment motorcade, the command added.

At Kueijen, the main transmissions of the helicopters, along with those from six other Apaches delivered in November, will be sent back to the U.S. for replacement.

The move is part of a series of safety checks following reports of a malfunction of a helicopter of the same model used by the U.S. Army.

The malfunction is reported to have been caused by failed torsion of nuts in the transmission.

Because of the glitch, the first six Apaches to arrive in Taiwan have been grounded.

The 12 Apaches at Kueijen will not be commissioned until the problematic parts are replaced and they have passed safety checks, the command said.

Taiwan spent more than US$2 billion on the model-E helicopters, the most advanced of the Apache series.

(By Cheng Che-fon and Elizabeth Hsu)
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