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at [email protected]http://www.airforcesmonthly.com #359 FEBRUARY 2018 // 31
the original Trackers to
the new 34th Squadron
at Hsinchu. In 1979 the
Anti-Submarine Squadron
received an additional 18
S-2Es and was renamed the
33rd Squadron. Together
with the 34th Squadron it
was organised under the
Anti-Submarine Group
of the 439th Wing. The
ROCAF S-2 inventory was
further bolstered by seven
S-2Gs in the mid-1980s.
An upgrade programme
codenamed ‘Tien Shan’
(‘Heavenly Mountain’)
resulted in 27 S-2E/Gs
being brought up to S-2T
standard between the late
1980s and early 1990s.
Two initial S-2Gs were sent
to the US for conversion by
Grumman, while the rest
were modified locally. The
Trackers were re-engined
with Garrett TPE331-
15AW turboprops, and new
mission equipment included
the AN/ASQ-504 magnetic
anomaly detector (MAD),
Litton AN/APS-504 radar,
AN/AAS-40 forward-looking
infrared (FLIR), AN/ARR-
84 99-channel sonobuoyreceiver and AN/AQS-92F
digital sonobuoy processor.Trackers
in action
The upgraded Trackers
immediately proved their
worth, detecting a Chinese
People’s Liberation Army
Navy (PLAN) Type 035
Ming-class submarine
snooping on a major
Taiwanese exercise, Han
Kuang 10, just 14 miles
(23km) off Tainan, in- The submarine was
shadowed for 72 hours
by Republic of China
Navy (ROCN) S-70C(M)-
1s and ships. A total of 22
sonobuoys were dropped
by the Seahawks and
Trackers as they monitored
the PLAN submarine.
Eventually, as the PLAN was
mobilising its ships to aid
the submarine, the ROCN
allowed it to leave the area
to avoid a confrontation.
An S-2T was also integral
in the detection of two
PLAN submarines –
believed to be Type 039
Song class – during the
1998 iteration of Exercise
Han Kwang off Taitung in
Taiwan’s southeast. The
same year, another S-2T
also discovered a US
Navy Los Angeles-class
submarine on a signals
intelligence mission during
an ROCAF live-fire exercise
of Mica missiles from
Mirage 2000s. Taiwan was
the only user of the Mica
outside France at that
time and this presented
a unique opportunity
for the US to gather
missile telemetry data.
Reorganisation within the
military led to the transfer
of operational control of the
S-2Ts to the ROCN in July
1999 and both squadrons
were renumbered as the
133rd and 134th Squadrons,
though this was reversed in
July 2013. In recent years,
the S-2T’s poor mission
availability and inability
to track and counter the
latest Chinese submarines
prompted the defence
ministry to procure 12 P-3C
Orions in a US$1.96bn
contract in 2007. The P-3s
were taken from storage at
the Aerospace Maintenanceand Regeneration Group
(AMARG) in Tucson,
Arizona, and received new
wings and a structural
service life extension
programme, as well as
an avionics upgrade,
bringing them to late US
Navy P-3C standard. The
aircraft were also given
the capability to launch
the AGM-84 Harpoon
and AGM-65 Maverick
for anti-surface warfare
and Mk48 torpedoes
for sub-surface work.
The first P-3C was
delivered to the 33rd
Squadron in September
2013, and the final aircraft
arrived at Pingtung in
June 2017. Apart from
participating in regular
patrols and tri-service
exercises, the P-3Cs
were involved in notable
operations in 2017, including
the monitoring of the
Chinese carrier Liaoning and
its escorts as they sailed
around Taiwan in July, and
the search for a crashed
ROCAF Mirage 2000-5Ei
in November (see Attrition,
January 2017, p90).Above: S-2T serial 2220
during its fi nal fl ying display
at Pingtung North Air Base
in southern Taiwan.
Below: Serial 2220 returns
to a traditional water
cannon salute after its fi nal
fl ight on December 1, 2017.
Above: ROCAF P-3C serial 3302 wears full-colour national markings and the insignia of the Anti-Submarine Group on the tailfi n.AFM