Taiwan Military News, Reports, Data, etc.

Air Force Brat said:

Yes, no doubt you are, you robbed the cradle you know,,, I've heard that later in life children keep you young?? not keeping anything from us are you Bub?? my babies are 19, soon to be 20, and both Freshmen in college?? where does time go? and Master Jura will soon be the Father of a teen age daughter,,, we should start praying for him now!

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Taiwan fighter jet goes missing during drill

Taiwan's defence ministry said on Tuesday (Nov 7) that a Mirage-2000 fighter jet lost contact during a drill off the island's northeast coast, with a search underway for the missing pilot.

The single-seat aircraft fell off the radar at 6.43pm (1043 GMT) while it was conducting regular nighttime training, the ministry said in a statement.

It was flown by Ho Tzu-yu, an experienced captain who graduated from the Air Force Academy in 2013 and has accumulated more than 700 hours of flight time, it added.

Of his flight experience, 491 of those hours were flying the Mirage-2000.

The air force has dispatched a S-70C rescue helicopter and C-130 transport aircraft to the waters where the fighter jet had disappeared, the ministry said.

"We hope to find captain Ho Tzu-yu as soon as possible during this golden period tonight," said Chang Yan-ting, an air force spokesman.
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A total of six vessels from the military and the Coast Guard Administration are also being sent to join the rescue operation, according to Chang.

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Franklin said:

Taiwan lost a single seat Mirage 2000-5 during a drill. The pilot is still missing.

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siegecrossbow said:

Could this have been a defection attempt?

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Janiz said:

lol

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Janiz said:

lol

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PEKING, Aug. 20— A former Taiwan Air Force flight instructor said here today that he had willingly defected on Aug. 8 in his F-5 jet fighter in order to demonstrate his desire to see Taiwan and China peacefully reunified.

Huang Zhicheng, a 29-year-old major in Taiwan, said his landing on the Chinese side of the Formosa Strait was not forced, as the Taiwanese authorities had suggested. Instead, he said, his ''return to the motherland'' was carefully planned three months in advance.

Mr. Huang, who went by the name Peter Z. Huang in Taiwan, met with reporters this morning in the Great Hall of the People. He wore a new but slightly baggy Chinese Air Force uniform -blue trousers, green Mao-style jacket and Mao cap.

He said he enlisted in the Chinese Air Force last week. Yesterday, Zhang Tingfa, the Air Force Commander, appointed him deputy commandant of China's Aviation Academy with the rank of deputy divisional commander. A $360,000 Award

Mr. Huang said he had not thought about what he would do with the $360,000 that the Chinese Government had awarded him for defecting. He was the first Taiwanese pilot to do so since before the Cultural Revolution in the 1960's.

Mr. Huang has been an honored guest at receptions and rallies since the defection was disclosed three days after his Aug. 8 landing at the Fuzhou airport in the coastal province of Fujian, opposite Taiwan.

Chinese press reports to the outside world on the defection have been muted. However, Chinese officials appear to be using it internally to support the notion that Deng Xiaoping's program for the peaceful reunification of Taiwan and China is having positive effects despite the increased belligerence of the Taiwanese authorities since the election of President Reagan.

Although he was referred to as ''Comrade Huang'' during his meeting with reporters this morning, the defector said that he had not joined the the Communist Party. Outdated Chinese Arms

He said his goal was to help China develop its air force. ''After I came back I found out that the military equipment of my country is rather backward,'' he said.

Mr. Huang, who lived in a comfortable air-conditioned house and drove a car in Taiwan, said that ''people's lives are rather hard'' in China. ''However, I'm full of confidence in the future development of my country,'' he said.

Mr. Huang was somewhat reluctant to criticize Taiwan at the news conference, in contrast to statements about the island attributed to him in the Chinese press. But he said the Taiwanese authorities did not allow people to discuss politics.

He said he took off with a student pilot, Lieut. Hsu Chiu-ling, at about 8 A.M. on Aug. 8 to check him out on instrument flying. Lieutenant Hsu was in the back seat. 'I Told Him Not to Worry'

Mr. Huang said he told the student to lower his rear cockpit blinds so that he could concentrate on instrument flying. Then, Mr. Huang lowered the altitude to 400 feet and headed over the Chinese mainland at 650 miles an hour. When the student noted from his instruments that they were over the mainland, Mr. Huang reportedly replied, ''I know.''

''I told him not to worry,'' Mr. Huang said. ''He just said we should turn left and go back to Taiwan.'' Mr. Huang said that he decided to fly the lieutenant back when the student told him that he did not want to land on the mainland. ''There were two reasons why I flew him back,'' Mr. Huang explained. ''One was that his presence would affect the smooth landing of my plane. And secondly was the question of his own rights. People now all talk about human rights. So I took him back, although at that time I was already short of fuel.''

The student parachuted from the plane near the Taiwanese coast and Mr. Huang flew back across the Formosa Strait and landed at Fuzhou.

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TerraN_EmpirE said:

PRC defectors tend to run to the US or Australia. frankly given the current state of transport between the PRC and ROC there are a lot less need to steal a Jet for a Defector then there was in the 1980's.

The Taiwanese have grounded the Mirage 2000 fleet which indicates they are siding more with a Crash.

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1. Yang Decai 1960 Mig 15
2. Shao Xiyan and Gao Youzong 1961 AN2
3. Liu Chengsi 1962 Mig 15
4. Li Xianbin and Li Caiwang. 1965 IL 28 Although there is some Controversy as Li Caiwang was actually a unwilling defector who attempted suicide. however he did serve in the ROCAF, he then emigrated to the US and finally back to the PRC after retiring with honors.
5. Fan Yuanye 1977 J6
6. Yan Wenchang Atempted 1979 J6 ran to Vietnam Crashed, poor quality navigation equipment of the time he slammed into a mountain, however the KGB investigation ( at the Request of Vietnam ) Concluded he was attempting to defect.
7. Sun Tianqin 1983 J7II Flew to South Korea, defected to Taiwan retired from ROCAF honorably emigrated to Canada.
8. Wang Xuecheng 1983 J5
9. Xiao Tianrun 1985 IL28 His Radio operator refused to defect as they had landed in South Korea the operator was returned to the PRC
10. Zheng Caitian 1986 J6
11. Liu Zhiyuan 1987 J6
12. Jiang Wenhao 1989 J6
13. Wang Baoyu 1990 J6 last Attempt flew to Russia, Was returned with aircraft.