Taiwan's first Apache combat squad to be commissioned

ROC Central News Agency

2017/06/27 17:54:59

Taipei, June 27 (CNA) Taiwan's first Apache combat squad will be formally commissioned Wednesday under the Army Aviation and Special Forces Command after undergoing more than two years of training on Taiwan's most advanced attack helicopters.

The command's chief, Lt. Gen. Ho Chi-chen (何啟鎮), said one of Taiwan's two Apache squads will be formally commissioned at a ceremony at the command's 601st Brigade base in Taoyuan's Longtan District on Wednesday.

The other Apache squad will be formally commissioned at a later date, Ho told reporters on the sidelines of a ceremony Tuesday to promote 21 military officers, including Ho.

The Apache squads are expected to reach "full combat readiness" by the end of next year, he added.

Taiwan purchased 30 AH-64E Apache helicopters from the United States and took delivery of the choppers from November 2013 to October 2014.

One of the 30 Apaches was destroyed in a crash during a training flight in Taoyuan in April 2014. The other 29 choppers all belong to the Army Aviation and Special Forces Command's 601st Brigade.

(By Lu Hsin-hui and Elaine Hou)
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