Airforces

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NEWS

// FEBRUARY 2018 #359

Special

he Republic of China

Air Force (ROCAF)

withdrew its final

operational S-2T Tracker

and declared its fleet of 12

P-3C Orions fully operational

in a ceremony witnessed

by President Tsai Ing-wen

at Pingtung North Air Base

on December 1, 2017. The

S-2T, serial 2220, returned

from its last sortie and was

greeted by a water cannon

salute, bringing an end to

the type’s 50-year career

with the Taiwanese military.

The Pingtung-based Anti-

Submarine Squadron of the

ROCAF’s 6th Wing received

ten S-2As in 1967, and

these were the country’s

first ASW-capable aircraft.

In 1977, the squadron took

on 16 S-2Es and transferred

Taiwan’s maritime

patrol changeover

Roy Choo and

Peter Ho detail

the withdrawal

of the Taiwanese

Tracker as the P-3

Orion is declared

ready for duty.

Above: P-3C serial 3315 leads E-2K Hawkeye serials 2503 and 2506 from Pingtung’s 2nd Early Warning Squadron during a

fl ypast to mark the Orion’s declaration of full operational capability. All photos Formosa Military Image Press

T