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進入《TAIPEI TIMES》Military holds precision weapons drill in Pingtung
Military vehicles equipped with US-made TOW 2A missile launchers take part in a live-fire drill in Pingtung County yesterday. Photo: Ann Wang, Reuters
‘SKY HORSE’: This year’s exercise involved firing TOW 2B missiles from a moving vehicle instead of the ground, enhancing mobility and defense, an army major said
Staff writer, with CNA
The military yesterday held live-fire exercises involving precision weapons in Pingtung County to test troops’ capabilities to counter potential amphibious and sea attacks by China.
The “Sky Horse” exercises were open to the media and involved troops from the army’s 542nd, 564th, 269th and 234th brigades, Hualien Defense Command, Army Infantry Training Command and the 99th Marine Brigade.
During the drills, soldiers fired TOW 2A anti-tank missiles at targets in the sea from a coastal drill area in Fangshan Township （枋山）.
Major Huang Chieh-hung （黃介宏）, an instructor from the Army Infantry Training Command who was in charge of the drill, said the soldiers used sighting devices to boost the missiles’ accuracy, adding that about 70 percent of the projectiles hit their designated targets at sea.
The major difference between this year’s Sky Horse exercise and previous ones is that TOW 2B anti-tank missiles were fired from vehicles instead of from the ground, he said.
Firing missiles from a vehicle increases mobility and helps soldiers defend against enemy attacks by engaging effectively at an early stage, Huang added.
Taiwan has purchased 1,240 TOW 2B anti-tank missiles, 24 Humvee armored vehicles upon which the missiles would be mounted and 30 targeting systems from the US, the Ministry of National Defense has said.
The weapons are to be delivered by 2025, the ministry said.
The military also held a live-fire exercise involving helicopters and Thunderbolt-2000 rocket systems at a separate drill ground in Pingtung.
Today, the armed forces are to hold live-fire exercises that would involve Avenger air-defense systems and Stinger surface-to-air missiles.
The drills come against the backdrop of aerial and naval maneuvers by China in and around the Taiwan Strait.
Last month, eight Chinese warplanes approached Taiwan’s contiguous zone — or the band of sea within 24 nautical miles （44km） of its coast.
In May, China’s Shandong aircraft carrier group sailed through the Taiwan Strait in a rare voyage.
Additional reporting by AFP
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
A Humvee armed with US-made TOW 2A missiles fires at a target during exercises in Pingtung County yesterday. Photo: Lo Pei-de, Taipei Times
