Captain Lia, first Taiwanese woman to fly an F-CK-1 Ching-Kuo Indigenous Defense Fighter (IDF). Sebastian Falletti
REPORT – Amid the escalation of the war, Le Figaro’s special envoy was able to go to the Tainan base, from where the fighters take off, to fly in contact with enemy aircraft.
Special Envoy for Hsinchu and Tainan
First the waiting. Lying on the sofa, some try in vain to take a morning nap in this room with rudimentary furniture, hidden from view. The youngest are killing time on a PlayStation 5, most leafing through a book or magazine with their fingertips, like in a dentist’s waiting room. Except that cell phones are banned and the anti-G suit is mandatory. Fear meets the desire to fight it. “It’s like waiting for a call from your girlfriend,” laughs Lt. Col. Wu Bong Yeng, aka “Bomber,” the alias on his olive-green jacket. And then a cry breaks the gloomy silence, synonymous with danger and redemption. At the end of the line, the order of the “scramble” or emergency launch is recognized along with the coordinates of the intercept zone of the “bandits” in the puffy cloudy sky of the Taiwan Strait.
The countdown has started. People’s Liberation Army (PLA) supersonic fighters can…
This article is for subscribers only. You still have 89% to discover.
Freedom knows no bounds, just like your curiosity.
Continue reading your article for €0.99 for the first month
Already subscribed? registration