The Air Defense Department of the Air Force oversees all Taiwan’s strategic weapons such as Patriot, Sky Bow and Xiongsheng missiles, and the number in active service has long exceeded 1,000. The picture shows President Lai inspecting the "2nd Company of the 613th Battalion of the 792nd Brigade of the Air Force" in February this year. This unit is the Tiangong III anti-aircraft missile unit. (Picture: taken from the Presidential Palace website)
[Reporter Luo Tianbin/Reporting from Taipei] Lieutenant General Liu Xiaotang, commander of the Air Force Air Defense and Missile Command responsible for guarding Taiwan’s airspace, will be discharged from the army at the end of November. Since the Ministry of Air Defense is responsible for all strategic weapons such as Patriot, Sky Bow and Xiongsheng missiles in Taiwan, the number in active service has already exceeded 1,000. As this important general who controls thousands of missiles takes off his military uniform, who will take over this important position that affects the security of the Taiwan Strait has become the focus of the recent relocation of military generals. Within the Air Force, the one that everyone is most optimistic about and has the loudest voice is Major General Tang Zhiyao, a native of Tainan and former deputy commander of the Air Defense Department.
Tang Zhiyao, who graduated from the Class of 1981 of the Air Force Academy, is an IDF fighter pilot. After resigning from the position of deputy commander of the Air Defense Department, he currently serves as the deputy commander of the Air Force Teaching Associate. In the eyes of his military colleagues and subordinates, he is a tough general who is "highly approachable and pragmatic in running the military." Grassroots cadres revealed that Tang Zhiyao usually has no airs when getting along with everyone, and he is straightforward and pragmatic when guiding his subordinates, and does not engage in strange tricks. This down-to-earth and pragmatic style of leading troops makes him very popular in complex troop management. In the past, when he served as the Major General Captain of the Third Regiment of Qingchuangang in Taichung, he even led the team to undertake the aerial mission of the National Day Ceremony, demonstrating extremely high pressure resistance and command and dispatch capabilities.
Please read on...
Air Force air defense troops fire Patriot II missiles during a joint precision munitions shooting exercise. (Photo: Provided by Military News Agency)
Tang Zhiyao is not only good at flying fighter planes, but his military experience is both civil and military. He once served as the leader of the force-building group of the Air Force Command and single-handedly led the procurement and construction of the new F-16V fighter jet; he was later transferred to the post of Major General Director of the International Policy Planning Division of the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence. This kind of comprehensive background that combines "frontline operations", "army planning" and "strategic intelligence" is quite rare among the new generation of generals in the national army. Because of his comprehensive abilities, on the eve of President Lai Ching-te's inauguration in 2024, he was listed as one of the popular candidates to be the first Chief of Guard of the Presidential Palace. Although he missed the post in the end, it has already been proven that he has won the trust of the top national security officials.
More importantly, Tang Zhiyao served as the deputy commander of the Major General of the Air Defense Department for more than 2 years from June 2022 to November 2024. This experience made him highly familiar with the tactical deployment and countermeasures systems of Taiwan's thousands of active anti-aircraft missiles, as well as the progress of Taiwan-US coordinated training exercises. This perfectly fits the external analysis that the new commander must choose between "a new generation of lieutenant general echelon flight officers" or "a background in the air defense missile system."
The commander of the Air Defense Department is a lieutenant general position of great strategic significance. During Liu Xiaotang's tenure, Taiwan's air defense capabilities ushered in a major transformation. The troops even went to Palau to conduct live ammunition testing of the Aisan missile, setting a perfect score record. Facing the more turbulent situation in the Taiwan Strait in the future, the burden of the new generation of "air defense leaders" will only become heavier.
