TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The National Chung-Shan Institute for Science and Technology (NCSIST) said Tuesday that it will tighten supervision of Kestrel anti-armor rockets after problems during live-fire drills.

The shoulder-launched system failed to fire during conscript exercises in two recent instances. An RW News report alleged the damage to the fire tube likely responsible for the mishap was due to human error, not metal fatigue or poor manufacturing.

However, NCSIST said the cause still needs to be determined. The arms manufacturer sent staff to the Army to supervise ammunition use and the Kestrels, Radio Taiwan International reported.

The rocket unpacking and preparation will be video recorded, and officers will deliver the rockets to the training site only after no problems are found, the military said. If faulty ammunition is discovered, it will be set aside and an NCSIST technical expert will investigate. 

The manufacturer rejected calls for a pause in the anti-armor rocket. The company said 1,089 Kestrel firings happened since 2014 with a 99.8% success rate.