Lieutenant General Cao Qingping, chief of staff of the island’s air force, said on Aug. 1 that the twin-seater would be suitable for operations for another 20 years after the extension.
The jets are stored at the Hsinchu Air Base in the northern part of the island and are responsible for policing areas such as Taipei, New Taipei, Keelung and Yilan.
The fighter is now in the late stages of its life cycle, and maintenance and repair costs are much higher than those of other major aircraft used by the Taiwan Air Force.
Within Taiwan’s Air Force, there is debate about whether to retire the entire fleet because the aircraft are not only expensive to operate and maintain, but more importantly, are incompatible with the US weapon systems in use on Taiwan. was there.
An Air Force official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the plane was once considered a state-of-the-art, state-of-the-art aircraft capable of rising quickly from relatively short runways and providing “excellent enemy-engaging capabilities.” said to have been considered. Including firing and tracking. ”
When it entered service in the late 1990s, it was said to be far superior to Taiwan-made IDFs and F-16 A/B jets purchased from the United States.
But after Taiwan upgraded its IDF jets and switched its F-16 A/Bs to F-16 Vipers, the Mirage jets lost their dominance.
“To make matters worse, the aircraft’s hourly operating and maintenance costs are among the highest of any Air Force fighter aircraft,” the official said.
According to Air Force officials, the Mirage costs about NT$800,000 (US$25,000) an hour to operate, compared to NT$250,000 for the IDF and NT$160,000 for the F-16. This does not include maintenance costs. Lack of spare components.
The source said that Dassault’s lack of a Mirage production line has made it difficult for Taiwan to obtain the spare parts it needs to maintain the aircraft.
Retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Zhang Yanting said extending the life of jets is a waste of money.
“Longevity is just a form of maintenance and will have limited effect compared to retrofitting,” he said. He added that it would be no match for fighter jets. Like a J-20.
“Rather than wasting money on extending life, why not update the Mirage once and for all?” he said.
Mainland China Airs Documentary Preparing to Attack Taiwan
Mainland China Airs Documentary Preparing to Attack Taiwan
Lin Yingyu, a professor of international relations and strategic studies at Tamkang University in New Taipei, said the Air Force should keep in mind that the decommissioning of French planes could leave them short on resources while they wait for replacements. said.
“With the PLA flying into Taiwan almost daily, the Air Force needs to deploy fighters to track incoming enemy aircraft and keep Taiwan safe, so it would be prudent to retire all Mirages. It’s not action,” he said.
Taiwan has ordered 66 F-16V jets from the U.S. to replace the retired Mirages, but it will still take some time before they are delivered to Taiwan, Lin said, adding concern over delivery delays. Ta.
The United States had planned to dispatch the first two aircraft by the end of this year, but that was delayed until the third quarter of 2024, but Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense stressed that all 66 aircraft should arrive by the end of 2026, as scheduled. .
Taiwan is under constant military pressure from the Chinese government, which should consider the island as part of its territory and, if necessary, use force to subdue it. Most countries, including the United States, do not consider Taiwan an independent state and oppose the use of force to change the status quo.
