DEFENSE/1-year conscripts test Taiwan-made man-portable launchers

Tainan, Nov. 6 (CNA) A group of conscripts drafted following this year's lengthening of mandatory military service from four months to one year fired domestically made portable rocket launchers during a media event in Tainan, southern Taiwan Wednesday.

In the live-fire exercises held at Southern Taiwan Military Training Center in Tainan, conscripts who spent several weeks training with man-portable shoulder-launched Kestrel were to fire several rounds from the domestically built weapon system.

Each conscript was seen carrying the launchers on their backs before firing them in kneeling positions from their shoulders under the supervision of instructors.

Most of the rockets hit targets some 200 meters away, however, one of the conscripts' launchers did not fire, reportedly due to a malfunction.

Wednesday's exercises were also meant to test conscripts' ability to deal with weapon malfunctions.

Colonel Yu Shao-jui (余紹睿), deputy commander of the training center, told reporters that the launcher that failed to fire would be given to its developer, the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST), Taiwan's military's top research institute, for further examination.

The 110-centimeter-long Kestrel weighs 5 kilograms, fires 67-millimeter rounds and has a range of 220 meters.

The launcher is made from fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP) and features an optical sight as well as a mount for a night vision scope.

The conscripts were part of the first group of conscripts that began their compulsory service earlier this year after Taiwan extended military service for men to one year from the previous four months.

The decision to lengthen the period of compulsory military service for Taiwanese men was aimed at strengthening Taiwan's combat readiness in the face of threats from China, according to Taiwan's government.

Other steps have been taken on that front, including updating training regimens, providing conscripts with new helmets and bulletproof vests, and purchasing new mortars, cannons and machine guns.

The one-year compulsory service will consist of eight weeks of boot camp and then an assignment with a designated unit in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Information, Communications and Electronic Force, Military Police, Political Warfare Bureau, or Medical Affairs Bureau, based on each individual's skills, according to the Ministry of National Defense.

Currently, Taiwan's military is mainly a volunteer force of around 215,000 people, with conscripts serving in a supporting role.

As of June, there were 152,885 active-duty voluntary military personnel in Taiwan's armed forces.