On the 3rd, NASC of MOI held the helicopter hanger site groundbreaking ceremony in the west of Kaohsiung International Airport. Minister of the Interior Yeh Jiunn-Rong also attended to host the ceremony and encourage NASC. Yeh Jiunn-Rong expressed that the Kaohsiung base would be used as the air disaster relief base of southern Taiwan upon its completion. The new base will not only enhance the air rescue capacities of areas to the south of Chiayi, Kaohsiung and Pingtung, but also protect the lives and assets of people living in Southern Taiwan.
General Director Tung Chien-Cheng expressed that the mid-term plan had been approved by Executive Yuan in February of 2016 with a total budget of over NTD 460 million and floor area of 9,256 m2, and was commissioned to Construction and Planning Agency of MOI. Due to the airport height limits, a space of two floors above the ground will be built into the aircraft depot; and a space of four floors above the ground will also be established for airborne and standby missions. The said spaces, which are estimated to to be completed in 2020, will be constructed floor by floor to overcome the height limit issue. Upon the completion of this construction project, the fleets of all-weather UH-60M Black Hawk and AS365 helicopter will move in and a space for the maintenance works of these two models will also be reserved.
MOI expressed that, to enhance the government’s 3D rescue efficiency, NASC has, according to guidance of national policy, reached a consensus of Ministry of National Defense, where the MND will prepare for the purchase of 60 UH-60M Black Hawks and transfer 15 to NASC for implementing disaster prevention, mitigation and rescue missions. At the moment, 9 Black Hawks have been assembled and another 6 will be completed by 2020. If the construction of Taipei base is not completed by then, these 6 helicopters will be deployed in Kaohsiung first.
UH-60M is equipped with twin turbo engines to provide the maximum take-off weight of 23,500 lbs. and cargo lifting capacity of 9,000 lbs. Not only can it carry 12 personnel or 4 medical stretchers (or other equipment depending to the mission type), but also it can overcome the high-mountain terrain of Taiwan’s Central Mountain Range, largely enhancing the medical transfer efficiency, bucket water load and range of patrol duties. In the future, UH-60M will implement five types of airborne missions: disaster rescue, emergency response, medical assistance, observation and patrol, and transportation missions.