Taiwan plans to build 66 jet trainer aircraft by 2026 to bolster defences
TAICHUNG, Taiwan: Taiwan plans to build 66 jet trainer aircraft, with a scheduled maiden flight by 2020, to bolster defences against China which has never renounced the use of force to take back what it sees as its territory.
The fleet of 66 aircraft will be delivered by 2026, the National Chung- shan Institute of Science and Technology, a quasi- defence ministry research agency, said yesterday.
“Investing over T$ 68 billion ( US$ 2.19 billion) in new model advanced jet trainers, not only lays the foundation for the development of our future air combat capability, but also lets our aerospace industry continue to develop,” Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen said at a signing ceremony for the project.
The jets will be developed jointly by the institute, defence ministry and Aerospace Industrial Development Corp, the island’s sole military jet-maker.
Taiwan’s jet-making capabilities have ‘stagnated’ for nearly 30 years with its aerospace industry falling behind other countries, Tsai said, referring to the Indigenous Defence Fighters ( IDFs) combat aircraft Taiwan developed and produced in the 1990s. The programme ended in 19992000.
“We do not have another 30 years to waste,” Tsai said.
In its latest 2017 budget, the defence ministry said it planned to spend T 68.6 billion over 12 years developing its own jet trainers.
Jet trainers are also called light attack aircraft although Taiwan says its jet trainers will only be used to pr epa r e pilots for combat aircraft. Taiwan’s air force mainly flies IDFs, and French-built Mirage and US-made F-16 fighter jets.
Taiwan, isolated diplomatically and reliant on the United States as its only arms supplier, has struggled to maintain modern military wares in the face of China’s growing might across the 180km-wide Taiwan Strait to its west. —
Reuters