The MND plans on rolling out the prototype of the trainer in September

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/04/03
By: George Liao,  Taiwan News, Staff Writer

(Photo from Wikipedia)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense (MND) has presented to the country’s legislature an important schedule regarding the manufacture of new supersonic trainer aircraft, Liberty Times reported on Wednesday (April 3).

According to the document, the MND plans on rolling out XAT-5, the prototype of XT-5 “Blue Magpie” trainer in September, conducting its maiden flight in June next year, starting small scale production in November 2021, and then beginning to mass-produce them in March 2023. ,

The ministry plans to deliver a total of 66 such trains over a six-year period, starting from 2021 with two planes.    [FULL  STORY]