Taiwan Military News, Reports, Data, etc.
- Thread starter Gollevainen
- Start date
Today another Taiwanese Mirage 2000 crashed. All these crashes reminds me of the decision of Taiwan to cancel the IDF Ching-kuo program after the US and France agreed to sell Taiwan F-16's and Mirage 2000's. The Taiwanese in my view made a serious mistake in doing that. They had nurtured the talents that have created the IDF back in the 1980's and 1990's, but after the US and France agreed to sell them warplanes they just decided to half their orders for the IDF, cancel the more advanced version that was in the works and most importantly they decided to close the production line after the 130 planes were finished. So what happened was that all those skilled engineers and technicians that have developed and build the IDF went abroad to search for other opportunities. And most of them ended up in South Korea, just look at the T-50 Golden Eagle of South Korea the resemblance with the IDF Ching-kuo is undeniable. Today Taiwan can't get anyone to sell them new planes because of the increased cloud and pressure from China. Had the Taiwanese continue to develop and produce the IDF it could have been in the same situation where Sweden is in today with the JAS-39 Gripen.
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MwRYum
Major
Unless the fortunes of nations changed, or the Taiwanese voters went nuts in the next general election and send nutcases who'd actually carry out separatist agendas into office, or physically move the whole Taiwan island towards Hawaii or whatever (if you didn't fell asleep during geography class, you'd know moving an island is mother nature's thing, way beyond mankind's league), invasion of Taiwan has become increasingly unlikely and most importantly, unnecessary.
Unless the mainland is overrun by zombies or BETA (those who watch anime should know what I refer to), the reality of Taiwan can't live without China is obvious to mature people who actually have a job and a family to feed.
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The status quo is acceptable to China in the short to medium term... but that will change as China gets stronger. And for a majority of the Taiwanese, the status quo is the bottom line.
This is a steady state, not an equilibrium. When a critical point is reached... who knows how it will come down? Perhaps Taiwan will accept closer integration (I suspect de jure unification and de facto close military alliance completed with a few naval bases would be the bottom line acceptable to the PRC), or perhaps the separation from the greater Chinese identity will go far enough that relations would deteriorate. Who knows?
Good thing the Spanish never agreed to Bush pushing them to sell the S80!
(Source: Daily Telegraph; published May 22, 2013)
A new submarine commissioned by the Spanish navy at a cost of 2.2 billion euros has been discovered to contain a serious design flaw – it is too heavy and will sink like a stone.
Miscalculations at the engineering stage have been blamed for a two-year delay in delivery of the first of four submarines commissioned from Spain's state-owned shipbuilder Navantia.
Last month it emerged that the Isaac Peral sub – part of the new S-80 series and named in honour of the Spanish man credited by some as the inventor of the underwater vessel – was at least 75 tons overweight, an excess that could compromise its ability to surface after submerging.
Navantia admitted the existence of "deviations related to the balance of weight" in the vessel and estimated it would take up to two years more to correct the problem.
The 233ft vessel may have to be lengthened to compensate for the excess weight, a redesign that comes with an estimated cost of 7.5 million euros per extra metre.
The shipbuilders based in Cartagena, southern Spain, are now seeking "technical experts from abroad" to advise in the redesign of what was billed as the "most modern conventional submarine"
(Source: Daily Telegraph; published May 22, 2013)
A new submarine commissioned by the Spanish navy at a cost of 2.2 billion euros has been discovered to contain a serious design flaw – it is too heavy and will sink like a stone.
Miscalculations at the engineering stage have been blamed for a two-year delay in delivery of the first of four submarines commissioned from Spain's state-owned shipbuilder Navantia.
Last month it emerged that the Isaac Peral sub – part of the new S-80 series and named in honour of the Spanish man credited by some as the inventor of the underwater vessel – was at least 75 tons overweight, an excess that could compromise its ability to surface after submerging.
Navantia admitted the existence of "deviations related to the balance of weight" in the vessel and estimated it would take up to two years more to correct the problem.
The 233ft vessel may have to be lengthened to compensate for the excess weight, a redesign that comes with an estimated cost of 7.5 million euros per extra metre.
The shipbuilders based in Cartagena, southern Spain, are now seeking "technical experts from abroad" to advise in the redesign of what was billed as the "most modern conventional submarine"
This is getting big on Taiwan more than 100000 people protested against the government over the death of a army corporal. Last month a 24 year old corporal named Hung Chung-chiu with 3 days left in his mandatory service died as a result of a punishment he has recieved and the alleged coverup of his death. He had to do harsh exercises in the sweltering heat and died of heat stroke. The reason for recieving this punishment depending on the sources its either about him trying to uncover corruption in his unit to just taking a mobile phone with a camera on to the base which is forbidden.
thunderchief
Senior Member
Unfortunate incident , but it also shows prevailing anti-conscription feelings of Taiwanese people . This doesn't look good for Taiwan's future as semi-independent entity because such relatively small country cannot hope to defend itself with just professional army without its citizen-soldiers . Basically , in case of war , if PLA manages to establish beachhead it would be all over very soon . Ordinary citizens would not use armed resistance , and professionals would not risk their lives defending lost cause .