Taiwan to build 66 jet trainer aircraft to help bolster defences
Project unveiled amid strained relations between island’s independence-leaning government and mainland China
Taiwan plans to build 66 jet trainer aircraft, with a scheduled maiden flight by 2020, to bolster defences against mainland 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 on Tuesday.
“Investing over NT$68 billion (HK$17 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’s President Tsai Ing-wen said at a signing ceremony for the project.
The jets will be developed jointly by the institute, the 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 Fighter combat aircraft Taiwan developed and produced in the 1990s. The programme ended in 1999 to 2000.
“We do not have another 30 years to waste,” Tsai said.