Seventy-six paratroopers took part in an airborne drill at a southern Taiwan military base as the annual five-day live-fire Han Kuang exercises entered their third day Wednesday.
The drill, held at Pingtung County Chaozhou Township’s paratrooper training base, began at around 6 a.m. with 76 paratroopers under the Army’s Airborne Special Force Command jumping from five C-130 transport aircraft flying at a height of 396-441 meters in different groups and landing safely in designated landing zones at the base.
According to the command, the drill was intended to simulate transporting extra troops behind the lines of an invading enemy to serve as reinforcements.
The airborne drill was held as part of the live-fire component of the 38th edition of the Han Kuang military exercises, Taiwan’s largest war games involving all military branches. The exercises, which test the country’s combat readiness in the event of a Chinese invasion, kicked off Monday morning and will run until late Friday.
The first two-days of Han Kuang exercises tested the military’s preservation and maintenance of combat capabilities in the event of a full-scale Chinese invasion, according to the Ministry of National Defense (MND).
On Wednesday, the exercises shifted focus to simulate the joint interception of invading enemy forces around the country, the MND said.
Another Han Kuang exercise on Wednesday involved a joint anti-landing mission at a coastal area near the Port of Taipei in New Taipei’s Bali District, during which AH-64E attack helicopters, indigenous IDF fighters, tanks and armored vehicles were deployed to simulate efforts to prevent invading enemy vessels from landing.
According to the MND, the Port of Taipei, Bali beach and Tamsui estuary have always been considered a crucial line of defense to stop People’s Liberation Army (PLA) forces from reaching Taipei, the political and economic center of Taiwan.
Wednesday’s anti-landing drill simulated a scenario whereby PLA forces attempted to land at the port using fighter jets, helicopters, and landing vessels.
In response, Taiwan’s military first deployed naval mines around the port before military engineers put up obstacles and used explosives along Tamsui River to cut off the invading forces and prevent them from reaching land.
Taiwan’s IDF jets, AH-64E and UH-1H choppers, together with a range of tanks and armored vehicles, were also deployed to attack the invading PLA forces.
Meanwhile, on the frontline island of Kinmen, a similar anti-landing drill was conducted at around 5:30 a.m. Wednesday, featuring howitzers, mortars and M60A3 tanks.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel