Taichung, Aug. 27 (CNA) The head of Taiwan’s main domestic aircraft developer has called on the government to give the green light and funding to develop the next generation indigenous fighter jets sooner rather than later, a move local defense experts said could boost the defense industry’s capability and increase leverage in buying advanced fighters from the United States.
Speaking to CNA during an Aug. 18 interview, Ma Wan-june (馬萬鈞), president of Taichung-based aerospace company, Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation (AIDC), made the call 30 years after AIDC-developed Indigenous Defense Fighter (IDF) entered service in the nation’s Air Force in the 1990s.
Taiwan initiated development of the IDF in May 1982, and named it after then President Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國), after the U.S. government at the time refused to sell F-16s to the country.
Since beginning service in 1992, the IDF has become one of the main backbones of the nation’s Air Force fleet.
Following the development of IDF, AIDC has also been building its own Advanced Trainer Jet (ATJ) dubbed the “Brave Eagle” since 2017 as part of President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) project to build indigenous warplanes, warships, and submarines launched after she assumed office in May 2016.
The first prototype of the new ATJ, serial 11001/08-9001, flew for the first time on June 2020. AIDC is scheduled to deliver 66 advanced trainer aircraft to the government by 2026.
“Now is the time for moving on to develop the next generation ‘Advanced Defense Fighter (ADF),'” Ma told CNA.
According to Ma, while 55 percent of parts used in IDFs and 75 percent of parts used in ATJ are domestically-made, given Taiwan’s unique diplomatic isolation, AIDC estimated that it would be capable of building 95 percent of all parts to be used in the future ADF once the government agrees to launch the project.
Ma said advancing indigenous weapon system development and construction capacities is definitely the right path for Taiwan, because they are valuable for the country both in boosting its defense capability and bringing economic benefits.
Ma also said indigenous weapon design and development are a long-term mission and one cannot simply call it off after the completion of one stage of the mission.
“It would take approximately 15 years to develop an aircraft, plus another 10 years before entering mass production,” he noted.
He disclosed that after completing the development of IDF from the 80s to 90s, many AIDC talents decided to leave the country and find works overseas, including to South Korea, where they helped the Asian country develop T-50 Golden Eagle trainer jets.
“Brain drain is inevitable if a country is not providing a stage for talents to exercise their expertise,” Ma said.
AIDC, previously known as the Aero Industry Development Center, was founded in 1969 under the Republic of China Air Force, the official name of Taiwan. It became part of the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST), Taiwan top military research unit, in 1983.
In 1996, AIDC was transformed from a military establishment into a government-owned company under the authority of the Ministry of Economic Affairs.
Ma has been serving as AIDC president since March 2019. He previously served in the NCSIST as its deputy head.
Asked by CNA to comment on Ma’s calls to develop the next generation indigenous fighter jet, the Air Force did not give a direct answer, saying only that the military has always made plans on weapon system procurement and development based on its defensive needs and latest enemy threats.
Three defense experts CNA talked to all agreed that it was important for Taiwan to start putting resources in developing next generation fighter jets.
Chang Yen-ting (張延廷), a former deputy commander of the Air Force, said Taiwan was able to buy F-16s from the U.S. in the 1990s after it had successfully developed and produced IDFs.
So, if Taiwan begins to develop its own ADF, the U.S. would more likely grant F-35 sales to the country, he noted.
However, Chang said Taiwan’s weapon developers currently do not have the capability to build fifth-generation jets and therefore it could be extremely costly to develop ADFs on its own.
Chang, Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a scholar with the government-funded Institute for National Defense and Security Research (INDSR), and Chieh Chung (揭仲), an associate research fellow with the National Policy Foundation in Taipei, all suggested that Taiwan’s government jointly develop advanced fighters with the U.S.
Given the fact that it could take a decade for developing a new fighter, by then other countries are already developing 5.5 generation or more advanced jets, Chieh warned.
Chieh also said Taiwanese defense companies should focus on first becoming part of the U.S.’ defense supply chain to learn from building the basic system before moving into more advanced aircraft manufacturing.
