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last night (10th), a mirage 2000 fighter jet of the taiwan military airbus crashed into the sea, and the pilot was rescued and survived. however, in the nearly 30 years since the mirage 2000 came to taiwan, there have been 9 major aviation safety accidents, resulting in the deaths of 5 pilots, the rescue of 8 pilots, the loss of 7 fighter jets, and the remaining 53. the mirage 2000 is known as the "french aristocrat", and its serviceability and maintenance costs are often criticized. whether it can still be combat-ready has attracted much attention. kuomintang legislator li yanxiu said today (11th) that defense security and the lives of soldiers cannot be pinned on the favor of the "god of luck" again and again. she also mentioned that the democratic progressive party claims that the us-taiwan relationship is "the best in history", but the progress of purchasing advanced fighter jets is not as expected, and there are even frequent reports of delays in military purchases. she called on taiwan leader lai ching-te to toughen up.

since the mirage 2000 came to taiwan in 1997, there have been nine major aviation safety accidents. among them, a taiwanese military pilot died in 2012 due to a malfunction after takeoff while undergoing training in france. in taiwan, there were also crash records in 1999, 2001, 2002, 2013, and 2017. the most recent one occurred in 2022, when it crashed into the sea off the coast of taitung due to suspected mechanical failure.

the mirage is one of the three main fighters of the taiwan military (the other two are the f-16 and idf ching kuo), and is positioned as the "number one" for high-altitude combat and interception missions, but it has reached the middle of its lifespan. su ziyun, director of the strategy and resources institute of the taiwan authorities' defense and security research institute, also admitted that the mirage 2000 does have a relatively high accident rate, "about 16%, which may be due to the delta wing, so special skills are required to operate it."

the mirage 2000 is known as the "french aristocrat". the cost of one aircraft is nt$1.3 billion (new taiwan dollars, the same below). the maintenance and operation costs are also higher than those of the f-16 and the taiwan-made idf fighter. it is the only model that has not undergone overall life extension and performance improvement projects. although the taiwan authorities have allocated nt$24.3 billion in the 2024 defense budget to "extend the life" of the mirage fighter and improve its serviceability, whether there will be flight safety risks has also sparked discussion.

military experts on the island believe that after the delivery of 66 new f-16v aircraft sold by the united states to taiwan, it is possible to consider "extending the life" of some mirage 2000s and sealing up the others to ensure that the taiwan air force can maintain its full combat capability.

li yanxiu said that we cannot rely on the favor of the "god of luck" again and again for defense security and soldiers' lives. it is not only the responsibility of the taiwan authorities, but also their obligation to protect the lives and property of 23 million taiwanese people and provide 200,000 taiwanese troops with sophisticated weapons and equipment.

li yanxiu explained that since the mirage fighter jets were delivered in 1997, a total of 9 major accidents have occurred, resulting in the unfortunate deaths of 5 pilots. in fact, the situation across the taiwan strait is serious, and the taiwan air force is the first-line response and combat service. the mirage 2000 fighter jets have been in service for 27 years and can only continue to "extend their lifespan". in addition to the pressure of daily training and take-off response, maintenance and exercises, i am afraid that they have already exceeded the range of affordability.

li yanxiu believes that the democratic progressive party claims that the us-taiwan relationship is "the best in history", but the progress of the taiwan military's procurement of advanced fighter jets, weapons and equipment is far less than expected, and there are even frequent reports of delayed delivery of military purchases. "lai qingde should be tough!"

it is understood that chiu yu-tang, the political warfare director of the 2nd tactical fighter wing of the taiwan air force, said that all mirage fighters at the hsinchu base are currently grounded for inspection. the taiwan air force command will provide unified instructions for follow-up investigations and other related handling actions.(lin jingxian, strait herald reporter in taiwan)