Taiwan’s military holds live-fire missile drill at sensitive test site
- Annual exercise aimed at countering potential attacks from the PLA was open to the media for the first time in 12 years
The annual exercise was held at the Jiupeng base – a sensitive test site on the island’s southeastern coast in Pingtung county – on Tuesday. It was open to the media for the first time in 12 years.
At least three types of missiles were fired to simulate the interception of PLA warplanes and munitions.
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Taiwan’s military holds live-fire missile drills at sensitive test site
Taiwanese media footage showed two US Patriot PAC-II surface-to-air missiles being fired to test their interception capabilities.
That was followed by the launch of a Tien Kung-III (Sky Bow-III) land-based surface-to-air missile, which was built in Taiwan and designed to destroy incoming cruise missiles.
A RIM-66 Standard medium-range ship-launched missile was also fired by a Taiwanese frigate from waters off the coast.
All of the missiles hit their targets at the Jiupeng base, where the island’s top weapons maker – the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology – tests its missiles.
The missiles “hit their targets smoothly”, defence ministry spokesman Sun Li-fang told reporters.
