40 // OCTOBER 2018 #367 http://www.airforcesmonthly.comForce
Report Republic of China Air Force
he backbone of the
Republic of China Air Force
(ROCAF) transport fleet
consists of 19 C-130Hs assigned
to the 10th Tactical Airlift Group
based at Pingtung. Twenty were
acquired in three consecutive
batches: an initial order of 12
Hercules purchased in 1984 was
delivered from September 1986;
four more were ferried to Taiwan
in January 1995 and the last four
arrived at Pingtung in December- The C-130Hs can be
equipped with Knight Aerospace
quick-change roll-on/roll-off
modular units to carry passengers.
The Special Transport Squadron
based at Songshan comprises 11
Beech 1900C-1s and two Fokker
F50s, delivered in 1988 and March
1992 respectively. The F50s are
used to transport officials around
the 13,974 sq mile (36,193km^2 )
island while the Beechcraft conduct
light transport, multi-engine
training, liaison and calibration.
Two of the Beech 1900Cs are
modified with special equipment
and antennas to calibrate radio
navigation aids while, depending
on the ROC Air Force Academy’s
training requirements, the type
also makes shuttle flights to
Gangshan on a daily basis.
Songshan is also home to one
F50 and a single Boeing 737-800
of the Presidential Flight. Serial
3701 (for ‘Boeing 737 number
one’) – the presidential aircraft
since February 2000 – has only
minor modifications including a
satellite communication system.Search and rescue
Established in 1954, the Air
Rescue Group’s tasks include
aerial search and rescue (SAR),disaster relief, emergency medical
services and transportation. When
severe weather or typhoons strike
the island, causing flooding,
landslides or other damage, all
available helicopters will support
rescue and relief operations.
Another important task of the
‘Seagull Squadron’ is transporting
ill or injured people to hospitals
from hard to access areas such
as mountains or from vessels in
the seas surrounding Taiwan.
The Chiayi-based Air Rescue
Group is equipped with 16 S-70C
and three EC225 helicopters and
has detachments at Songshan
(in the city of Taipei) in the north
of the island and Taitung in the
south. Fifteen minutes’ readiness
is provided during daytime while
night-time readiness varies
between 20 and 45 minutes,
depending on location. A standardC-130H can be dispatched
for SAR tasks from Pingtung
within 45 minutes if required.
The Air Rescue Group received
14 S-70C Bluehawks in June 1986
to replace its UH-1H ‘Hueys’ – four
S-70C-1s for VIP transport and
ten S-70C-1As for SAR missions.
In April 1998, four S-70C-6 Super
Bluehawks arrived, equipped with a
Hover Infrared Suppression System
(HIRSS), weather radar, AN/AAQ-
20 forward-looking infrared (FLIR)
sensor and an SX-16 Nightsun
searchlight to enhance all-weather
and night SAR capability.
To expand its rotary SAR fleet, in
January 2010 Taiwan ordered three
EC225s, which entered service
in July 2012. Compared with the
S-70C, the EC225 SAR variant is
more powerful with lower vibration
levels and an increased payload.
It also flies at a faster cruisingAFM completes its analysis of the Republic of China Air
Force, with Marco Muntz and Wiebe Karsten turning their
attention to its transport and liaison, search and rescue, and
training assets – and prospects for the future.Defending
T
40-45 Taiwan AFM Oct2018.indd 40 9/10/2018 9:32:54 AM