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Image source, LOCKHEED WEBSITE
American military experts say that these planes are crucial to improving Taiwan’s defenses.
The Taiwan Air Force just suspended all F-16s after an accident that left the Air Force Colonel “missing”.
News from Taiwan on Tuesday night said an F-16 plane crashed at an altitude of 1.8 km just two minutes after takeoff from the Hualien base.
The plane disappeared from radar screens and Air Force Colonel Tuong Chanh Chi, who was in control of the plane, is believed to have “disappeared on the high seas.”
The incident was so serious that the president, Thai Anh Van, delivered a speech to military and media officials, according to regional news agencies and international media.
Soon after, the Taiwanese Air Force ordered the suspension of all F-16s for a technical inspection.
Colonel Tuong, 44, has 2,230 flight hours and his single-seater plane just passed a technical inspection in September 2019.
CNN said the incident occurred less than three weeks after a Taiwan Air Force plane crashed, killing the driver.
Focus Taiwan says that since 1998, there have been seven serious crashes with Taiwan’s F-16s and two planes have died. Another five are “missing, presumed dead.”
In January 2016, a Taiwanese pilot was killed in an F-16 crash while conducting a practice flight at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, USA.
Currently, Taiwan has 140 US-bought F-16s.
Regional tensions make the United States ‘have to be there’
Also on Tuesday this week, the United States sent two long-range bombers to the China Air Defense Identification Area (ADIZ) in the East China Sea to show strength after China’s air and naval exercises in the China Sea. Oriental. region.
On November 17, 2020, two Chinese military aircraft flew into the ADIZ area of Taiwan. Taiwanese media reported that the Chinese fleet consisted of a Y-8 that was not Shaanxi and was carrying electronic reconnaissance equipment and a hunting submarine of the same type.
According to the Hong Kong newspaper, the South China Morning Post, the two US planes shipped were B-1B Lancer from the Andersen base on Guam.
Both planes carried out an aerial refueling mission during the mission, the United States Air Force announced.
