Taiwan 'compensated' over flaw in French-made jets

Bangkok Post ^ | 3/21/2010 | Bangkok Post

[ErnstStavroBlofeld]

Taiwan's air force said Sunday that it had received more than three million dollars' worth of parts and maintenance service because of a flaw in the island's French-made Mirage fighter fleet.

A fully armed French-made Mirage fighter jet patrols the sky above Hsinchu, Taiwan. Taiwan's air force said Sunday that it had received more than three million dollars' worth of parts and maintenance service because of a flaw in the island's French-made Mirage fighter fleet. The air force had been effectively compensated in November over cracks in the blades of several Mirage engines which had prompted the air force to reduce the time of training and various flight missions for the fleet.

"Since then, the combat readiness rate of the Mirage fleet has rebounded to reach the standards targeted by the defence ministry," the air force said.

Dassault Aviation makes the jet but it was another firm responsible for the engines that paid the costs, the air force said without elaborating.

Taiwan's air force has 56 Mirages.

China says it is prepared to take the self-ruled island back by force if necessary since their split in 1949 at the end of a civil war, prompting Taiwan to seek more advanced weapons, mainly from the United States.