A Taiwan air base drone incursion forced the emergency closure of Ching Chuan Kang (CCK) Air Base in Taichung on the evening of Sept. 8. The closure diverted eight fighter jets mid-training and forced a passenger flight to circle before landing.
The Air Force Command Headquarters said clear weather that evening had allowed scheduled night-flying training to proceed as planned. The base sits alongside Taichung International Airport in central Taiwan.
Taiwan Air Base Drone Detected Mid-Training
The control tower spotted an unauthorized drone entering the airspace at 7:37 p.m. local time, according to Taipei Times. Controllers declared an emergency closure of the airport soon after.
Eight Indigenous Defense Fighter (IDF) jets from the Republic of China Air Force were airborne on a night-training mission at the time. Air traffic control ordered all eight to abort and divert; they landed instead at Hsinchu Air Base roughly 90 kilometers to the north.
A passenger flight arriving from Macau was also affected. The aircraft circled over the area until air traffic control cleared it to land once the airspace was declared safe.
25-Minute Shutdown
Taichung International Airport director Chang Jui-shu said the intrusion lasted from 7:37 p.m. to 8:02 p.m., a closure window of roughly 25 minutes. Flight operations resumed once controllers confirmed the drone had left the airspace.
The base and airport share a single runway complex. Any airspace violation affecting one immediately halts operations for both military and civilian traffic.
Police Search Comes Up Empty
After airport personnel spotted the drone, the military notified the Taichung Police Department’s Cingshuei Precinct. Officers searched the surrounding area but found no trace of either the drone or its operator.
Police said they remained on standby in the area until the military issued an all-clear. Patrols in the vicinity will increase as investigators try to identify who was flying the device. The Air Force has since referred the case to the Aviation Police Bureau for further investigation.
Steep Penalties Under Taiwan Law
Authorities emphasized the legal exposure facing whoever operated the drone. Flying an unmanned aircraft inside the base’s 2.6-kilometer restricted no-fly zone is a serious violation. Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration enforces the rule.
Violators face fines ranging from NT$300,000 to NT$1.5 million — roughly US$9,500 to US$47,600 — police said. They also risk revocation of their drone operator license and confiscation of the equipment.
The incident is the latest in a string of drone incursions at military installations worldwide this year. It echoes a similar breach at Australia’s Williamtown RAAF base, home to the country’s main F-35 training squadron, which was penetrated twice within a month.
Officials reported no damage or injuries in the Taichung incident. Normal operations at CCK Air Base and Taichung International Airport resumed shortly after the airspace was cleared.
Sources
- Taipei Times: “Eight fighter jets, commercial flight diverted after drone intrudes on Taichung air base”
- Taiwan News: “Drone disrupts flights at Taichung Air Force base”
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