Taiwan’s Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation (AIDC) conducted on 10 June the first flight of its T-5 ‘Blue Magpie’ (now renamed T-5 ‘Brave Eagle’) advanced jet trainer (AJT)/light fighter aircraft, which is being developed for the Republic of China Air Force (RoCAF).
The prototype aircraft, which was developed in collaboration with the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST), took to the skies for about 20 minutes from Ching Chuan Kang Air Base in Taichung City, according to the Ministry of National Defense (MND) in Taipei.
Taiwan’s T-5 ‘Brave Eagle’ AJT conducted its first flight on 10 June from Ching Chuan Kang Air Base in Taichung City. (Taiwanese MND)
The prototype was rolled out in September 2019 in a ceremony that was attended by Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen. Three more prototypes of the twin-engined, supersonic aircraft are expected to be built.
The RoCAF is expected to acquire 66 units of the twin-seat T-5 under a TWD68.6 billion (USD2.2 billion) contract awarded in 2017. The AJT is expected to replace the service’s ageing AIDC AT-3 trainers by 2026, while a light attack/fighter variant is intended to replace the service’s Northrop F-5E/F Tiger II combat aircraft.
The T-5 is based on the AIDC F-CK-1 Ching Kuo multirole Indigenous Defence Fighter (IDF), which entered RoCAF service in the mid-1990s.
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