Taiwan Concludes Exercise Chang Ching 17, First in Seven Years
Last week, the Republic of China Army and Marine Corps conducted the Chang Ching 17 exercise, the first of its kind in seven years, in Central Taiwan. The seven day exercise started on 21 October and concluded on the 27th, and saw Taoyuan’s 269th Mechanized Infantry Brigade pitched against Kaohsiung’s Marine 99th Brigade.
The 99th Brigade acted as Red Team for this exercise, and was tasked with advancing from their base in the south of the island and capture its central regions, while the northern 269th was tasked to intercept. After initial vehicle inspection and scouting, the two units set off to meet in battle along civilian roads.
After a dozen hour’s maneuvering across the island, the 269th Brigade arrived first at the simulated battlefield at night, while the 99th’s maneuvering brought them through the more bustling townships of Kaohsiung’s Siaogang district and drew notable attention from the populace, the older M60A3 tanks stood in great contrast to the lively downtown.
In the six days of combat that followed, new technologies such as the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology’s Cardinal II and rotary scouting UAV saw their trial by ‘fire’, replacing traditional scouts in spotting hostiles for the 99th Brigade; providing live battlefield status to forward base personnel and improving battlefield visibility. The new drones were critical for the 99th Brigade in coordinating with AH-1Ws and F-16Vs for fire missions against the 269th. Although only the scouting model of the rotary UAV was used in the exercise, NCSIST has already announced developments of laser designation and bomber variants, perhaps emulating the bomber drones developed during the war in Ukraine.
The new equipment saw the 99th Brigade gain ground against the 269th, who were force to retreat back to their base and end the exercise in defeat. At the end of the exercise, President Tsai visited the troops at Chiayi county and prayed at Gangkou Temple. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research commented that not only does the exercise function to sharpen the skills of the involved units and familiarize them to the terrain, it also serves to demonstrate to the population the strength of the Republic’s army and extend their knowledge of its equipment. With the temple’s faithful joyfully replying to the President that the exercises were of no trouble, it has certainly worked for some.