TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Students at National Taipei University (NTPU) were surprised Wednesday (March 25) to see two military helicopters land on their campus.

The AH-64E Apache and the OH-58D Kiowa Army helicopters were taking part in month-long quarterly drills which were revived last year to replace an earlier week-long period of maneuvers, CNA reported.

The event served to deepen the military personnel’s skills and to strengthen the coordination between different sections of the armed forces. The two helicopters simulated an evacuation operation, according to CNA.

The latest round of exercises started off with an emergency takeoff for F-16 jets stationed in Hualien in order to simulate the interception of enemy aircraft. Army units drilled near the estuary of the Tamsui River in north Taiwan, while nighttime exercises were conducted by Army soldiers stationed in Linkou, New Taipei City and in Hukou, Hsinchu County.

On Wednesday morning, the Apache attack helicopter and the Kiowa observation chopper flew from their base in Longtan, Taoyuan City to the NTPU campus in Sanxia, New Taipei City for simulations of reconnaissance, evacuation, and the handling of Hellfire air-to-surface missiles, a military spokesman said.