NO BUDGET FOR REPLACEMENT OF AGEING ANTI-SUB HELICOPTERS |反潛直升機戰力 外界擔憂青黃不接

Back home, the last of the 12 anti submarine planes we bought from the US, has been scheduled for delivery in July, and a commissioning ceremony for all the 12 planes is expected to take place later in the year, but some say that many of the military's anti submarine helicopters are either past or near retirement, and the military hasn't budgeted money for new purchases. The last P-3C anti submarine planes of the 12 purchased from the U.S. will arrive in Taiwan in July. It is reported that these may be officially inaugurated into the military with a ceremony in October. Although anti-submarine fixed-wing plane defense capability will be greatly improved, the Navy's 500MD anti-submarine helicopters are too old, and have been selected for obsolescence. Even the Navy's S-70C (M) anti-submarine helicopters have seen over 25 years of service and are carrying out performance improvement plans. Many in the defense community are worried that the anti-submarine helicopters are past repair. ==TSENG CHI-WEN Chief Editor, Asia Pacific Defense magazine== The military has definite requirements for anti-submarine helicopters and if this sort of equipment is too old, its parts are hard to get and the current anti-sub helicopters are inadequate next to the People Liberation Army's new submarines and that is a threat to defense. As an island, the PLA's submarines are the main threat to Taiwan. In 2015, the US proactively sought to offer the ROC navy the MH-60R, which are the same anti-sub helicopters that the US uses, to strengthen ROC anti-sub capability. However, it was reported that the MND declined and opposition legislators think that if there is such a need, then budget should be allocated to it straightaway to plug gaps in defense capability. The Navy stressed that in addition to planning for future anti-submarine helicopter combat needs, it was carrying out a performance improvement program for the current S-70C (M) anti-submarine helicopters, to maintain anti-submarine defense capability. TRANSLATED BY：CLARE LEAR