Two days of military exercises for the Taiwanese army with Avenger air defense systems 12001172
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Armies in the world - Taiwan
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| Two days of military exercises for the Taiwanese army with Avenger air defense systems. | |||
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Tuesday, January 17, 2017, Taiwan started two days of military drills imulating an attack by China. The Taiwanese armed forces gathered in central Taiwan for annual drills that saw troops practise combat skills with tanks, attack helicopters and artillery.
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 Avenger air defense system of Taiwanese army. |
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During these military exercises, the US-made Avenger air defence missile system were deployed in central Taichung city.
The Avenger AN/TWQ-1 Air Defense System vehicle is a missile mounted system which provides mobile, short-range air defense protection for ground units against cruise missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles, low-flying fixed-wing aircraft, and helicopters. The two-day military drill came one week after China’s aircraft carrier Liaoning along with a fleet of warships wrapped up their three-week training session in the South China Sea, after which the ship sailed through the strait though it did not trespass into Taiwan waters. The aircraft carrier returned to its Qingdao home base on January 14. In addition to the drills, the air force confirmed Tuesday an upgrade of Taiwan's 143 F-16s was under way, with materials supplied by US aerospace company Lockheed Martin which manufactured the jets. "Taiwan is the first country in the world to upgrade the F-16 A/B fighters to F-16 V. We are enhancing our aerial capabilities to ensure national security," an air force official told AFP. The government-funded project, codenamed "Phoenix Rising" has a budget of Tw$110 billion ($3.47 billion) and aims to be complete within the next six years. |
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