Taiwan has begun developing its own fighter

Taiwan (Republic of China) has begun developing its own fighter of a new generation – Ukrainian military portal.

The first flight of the new aircraft is scheduled for 2026 or 2027.

During this time, research work on 24 new technologies will be completed, by 2024 the design of the configuration of the new aircraft and the design of the engine for it will be completed. The cost of these works is also known – $ 59 million for the aircraft configuration and 310 million for the engine.

It is planned that the new fighter will replace the F-CK-1 Ching-kuo aircrafts, which were developed by the local company Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation (AIDC) and have been in service with the Air Force of the Republic of China since 1994.

AIDC is involved in the development of the new aircraft in conjunction with the Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (CSIST), the national defense research center.

Taiwan has begun developing its own fighter. Aircraft AIDC F-SK-1 Ching-kuo. Photos from open sources

Both organizations are already involved in the development of another Taiwanese aircraft, the HT-5 training and combat jet aircraft.

The flight of the first prototype HT-5 with serial number 11001 (board number: 08-9001) took place on June 10, 2020, before that its ground tests took place.

The total cost of the program, funded by the Ministry of National Defense of the Republic of China (Taiwan), is estimated at $ 2.3 billion.