Taiwan Twists In The Wind

[SBD-3]

March 12, 2010: The Taiwanese government has admitted that their older fighters (F-5s, IDFs and Mirage 2000s) are not likely to do well against the newer Chinese Su-30s and Su-27s. Taiwan ran combat simulations and found that they would lose 2.8 Mirage 2000s and 1.7 IDFs for every Su-30 shot down. The F-16 is considered a match for the Su-30, and Taiwan is trying to get more of them. China is trying to persuade the United States not to provide them.

The 60 elderly F-5s are no competition at all for the Su-30s, and were only considered useful against Chinese bombers or their MiG-21 clone (the F-7). The locally made IDF is, and this is no secret, a second rate F-16 replacement. The 56 French Mirage 2000-5 are expensive, and manpower intensive, to maintain.

The Taiwan Air Force is considering retiring the older, more difficult to maintain, aircraft, and put more resources into the more recent models. Taiwan wants to upgrade its 146 F-16A Block 20 fighters, which are some of the oldest F-16s still in service. Taiwan has on order 66 F-15C block 50/52 fighters, a sale which has been blocked by local politics, and Chinese protests, for years.

 

[topjumper]

I'm still hopeful that the chinese won't have to fight the chinese ever again like the last civil war, there are plenty of pan-blue supporters in taiwan and we all want to see a stronger china. As China grows stronger and has more political freedom/reforms over time, people in Taiwan will opt to get closer to china rather than sticking with the americans.

 

[below_freezing]

sorry i dont have good impression of taiwanese sometimes especially after visiting their forums. try saying you're from the mainland: 1 person will be friendly and 99 will attack you. its WORSE than being a japanese in china or korea, or an indian in pakistan.

in reality when they say F-16 is a match for Su-30 and J-11, they actually mean: Su-30 and J-11 are superior to the F-16 in range, top speed, top payload, in J-11b radar cross section and radar.

 

[zb68930171]

It's a old problem, just the problem of time, but one point we sure is that American and Japan won't hope mainland and taiwan are united

 

[below_freezing]

It's a old problem, just the problem of time, but one point we sure is that American and Japan won't hope mainland and taiwan are united

very true. eventually the people on taiwan will see their errors. most of the independence supporters have US passports anyways, just in case the sky starts raining steel.