Taiwan-made fighter jet drill marks the end of five-day wargames

Taipei, Sept. 17 (CNA) A drill to test the counterstrike capabilities of the domestically-built Indigenous Defense Fighter (IDF) was held in Taichung Friday, marking the end of the five-day live-fire component of the Han Kuang exercises.

The drill, held at Taichung's Ching Chuan Kang Air Base, involved a number of the Air Force's IDF jets in a simulated counterstrike against an enemy invasion by air.

Pilots and ground crew were mobilized as soon as they received an order to take off from the base and intercept enemy aircraft.

The drill tested the emergency response speed and capabilities of IDF jets and their pilots in case of an enemy invasion.

Meanwhile, the Friday exercises also saw the 146th Fleet's Tian Dan Cheng Kung-class guided-missile frigate deploy from its home port to conduct surveillance and reconnaissance missions alongside other naval vessels.

According to the Military News Agency, the Tian Dan frigate also carried out fire drills this week to familiarize its crew with the procedures to be followed during an emergency.

The drill marked the conclusion of the postponed live-fire component of the Han Kuang exercises which was held from Monday through Friday.

The Han Kuang exercises, Taiwan's major war games, have been held annually since 1984, in the form of live-fire drills and computerized war games, to test Taiwan's combat readiness in the face of a possible Chinese invasion.

This year's tabletop drills were held from April 23-30. The live-fire exercises were scheduled to start July 12 and run for five days but due to a domestic COVID-19 outbreak that started in mid-May, the military decided to postpone the live-fire part of the drill until a later date.

After the end of the drills, Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正) on Friday passed on President Tsai Ing-wen's (蔡英文) encouragement to the armed forces for their hard work during the exercises.

Chiu said the drills were held to test the military's capability and to demonstrate its commitment to self-defense.