DEFENSE/Black Hawk helicopter airlifts fuel bladder in battlefield resupply exercise

Taoyuan, July 14 (CNA) A UH-60M Black Hawk helicopter on Tuesday airlifted a 500-gallon fuel bladder to a forward resupply point in Taoyuan, where ground crews assembled and connected the fuel system within 20 minutes as part of Taiwan's Joint Defense Exercises.

The Army's 601st Aviation Brigade, under the Third Theater of Operations, flew the Black Hawk at low altitude along the Dahan River before hovering over a designated site in Daxi District. The helicopter then lowered it by sling load to waiting troops, who quickly connected fuel hoses and completed assembly within the military's prescribed 20-minute window.

The fuel bladder can be configured to carry different types of fuel depending on mission requirements, allowing aviation units to establish mobile refueling points closer to frontline forces.

The exercise also saw Thunderbolt-2000 multiple rocket launchers rapidly replenish their MK-15 and MK-30 rocket pods before assuming firing positions.

The drills are part of Taiwan's Joint Defense Exercises, running from July 13-17, which simulate Chinese forces entering Taiwan's territorial waters and focus on joint operations among the armed services and the execution of a 'kill chain' under decentralized command and control, with missions carried out according to rules of engagement.

Military officials told CNA that the exercise builds on last year's Han Kuang exercises, when Black Hawk and AH-64E Apache helicopters practiced "hot refueling" and rearming at riverside locations without returning to conventional bases.

Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-funded Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said Daxi's mountainous terrain and proximity to the 601st Aviation Brigade's base in Longtan make it an ideal location for concealed logistics operations.

Su said the exercises reflect the military's shift toward a logistics model emphasizing predictive planning, precision, modularity and decentralization, mirroring resilience concepts promoted by the U.S. military and NATO.

He added that dispersing fuel and ammunition stockpiles and establishing independent supply hubs reduces the risk of a single strike crippling logistics, while helicopters and C-130 transport aircraft can sustain frontline forces if ground supply routes are severed.

Meanwhile, low-altitude flights along river valleys could also help helicopters reduce their exposure to enemy radar, he said.