Taipei, June 19 (CNA) Taiwan's Air Force said Monday that it had successfully intercepted a Sky Bow II missile, using a Patriot II missile, during a test earlier in the day.
The Sky Bow II, a surface-to-air missile developed by the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology in Taiwan, was fired from Chengkung Township in southeastern Taiwan's Taitung County at 6:35 a.m., the Air Force said.
It was successfully intercepted over the outlying Green Island by an American-made Patriot II missile fired from Jupeng Base in Pingtung County, southern Taiwan, the Air Force said.
In Chengkung Township, members of the public started to gather as early as 4 a.m. to watch the launch of the indigenous Sky Bow II, an event that one spectator described as the country's "most expensive fireworks show."
The test firing of a next-generation Sky Bow III missile was scheduled for last year but was postponed and a Sky Bow II was used instead.
Meanwhile, the Air Force denied a Liberty Times report that it was a Patriot III missile that was used in the intercept.
According to military sources, the United States has not given permission for live test firing of Patriot III missiles outside its territory.
