UH-60 pilots to train in US

The nation is to send 32 pilot-instructors to the US for flight training on UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters later this year as part of a bilateral arms purchase agreement, but legislators continue to question the government’s decision to allocate some of the new choppers to rescue and disaster-relief missions.

Minister of the Interior Chen Wei-zen (陳威仁) said the pilot-instructor groups are to head to the US in July for the five-month training program and return to Taiwan at the end of the year, accompanying the delivery of another new batch of the helicopters.

At the meeting of the legislature’s Internal Administration Committee, Chen said US training of Taiwan’s aviation personnel on flying UH-60s was included in the terms of the government’s US$3.1 billion procurement of 60 Black Hawk helicopters, with final delivery expected by the end of 2018.

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