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| F-CK-1 Ching-kuo IDF (Image: Wiki Commons) |
Wendell Minnick
TAIPEI - Taiwan’s defense minister intends to continue newly elected President Tsai Ing-wen’s pledge to develop indigenous weapon systems and wean Taiwan off its dependency on US-made arms.
Newly appointed minister Feng Shih-kuan and other ministry officials emphasized that policy once again during the minister's Dragon Boat Festival banquet on June 13.
Of particular interest to Feng is the local production of a new fighter-trainer to replace the aging AT-3 Tzu Chung attack/trainer, produced by the state-owned Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation (AIDC) in the 1980s. Feng served as AIDC chairman from 2006-2008, and his expertise in industrial defense manufacturing was a key factor in his appointment as the new defense minister.
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| F-CK-1 Ching-kuo IDF (Image: Wiki Commons) |
The replacement for the AT-3 has been dubbed the XAT-5 advanced jet trainer, nicknamed the "Blue Magpie." The air force has a requirement for 66 aircraft for two training bases: one in Taitung to replace the aging F-5E/F Tigers and the other in Kangshan to replace the AT-3s. The XAT-5 is a derivative of the AIDC-produced Indigenous Defense Fighter (IDF) built during the 1990s.
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