How will China respond? 

The National Interest
Date: August 13, 2019 
By: David Axe Follow @daxe on TwitterL

A scale model has appeared in public depicting Taiwan’s newest warplane.

Taiwan’s Aerospace Industrial Development Corp, or AIDC, built a model of the Blue Magpie for the 2019 Taipei Aerospace & Defence Technology Exhibition, photos reveal.

The $2.2-billion Blue Magpie program, which aims to build 66 high-performance training planes for the Taiwanese air force, could help to sustain the island country’s aerospace industry as it struggles to maintain a large and aging fleet of fighters.

Diplomatic pressure from China complicates Taiwan’s efforts to acquire warplanes from foreign manufacturers. Taipei for years has asked to buy new F-16s from U.S. firm Lockheed Martin, but the administrations of several U.S. presidents have rejected the request.

The Taiwanese air force in 2008 first proposed to buy new training jets to replace decades-old AT-3 and F-5 lead-in fighters. The air arm considered several foreign designs. But Pres. Tsai Ing-wen, who won election in 2016, made it her policy to develop the local defense industry.    [FULL  STORY]