Taiwan recalls all F16 fighter jets after one goes missing during training session
Taiwanese media said an unspecified number of F-16 fighter jets and warships were deployed in Taiwan's ADIZ to closely watch the Chinese warships. The
Taiwan has grounded all of its F16 fighter jets on an immediate basis after one of the fighter jets went missing during a training exercise.
Taiwan had nearly 150 F16 fighter jets in the sky, which have all been recalled back to the ground for a detailed safety check, while the rescue team is continuing its search for the missing jet.
This decision, which was announced by the local authorities on Wednesday, has now put more pressure on the limited fleet of the country to warn off the Chinese jets which have increased their activity in the recent few months.
The F16 fighter jet that went missing by being commanded by a 44-year-old pilot. It disappeared from the radar on Tuesday night at an altitude of nearly 6,000 feet (1,800 metres). The jet disappeared merely two minutes after taking offfrom Hualien air base in eastern Taiwan on the same day.
"The rescue mission is our top priority now. The air force has grounded all F16s for checks and I've instructed an investigation into the cause of the incident," President Tsai Ing-wen said.
This disappearance of the 44-year-old pilot has come a few weeks after a Taiwan pilot was killed after his F-5E fighter jet crashed into the sea during a similar training programme.
Without the F16 fighter jets in the skies, Taiwan will have the locally-built Indigenous Defence Fighter, French-built Mirages from the late 1990s and F5-E fighters that date back to the 1970s protecting the country from the constant interruption from the Chinese borders.