Shephard Media
Date: 12th February 2017
By: Charles Au in Taipei
Taiwan kicked off its air force’s advanced jet trainer (AJT) programme on 7 February. A 
memorandum of cooperation was signed between the Republic of China Air Force (ROCAF) and the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST) to develop the XT-5 trainer.
The XT-5 will be designed by the NCSIST’s Aeronautical Systems Research Division, and it will be manufactured by the Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation (AIDC).
The new AJT will replace 49 AIDC AT-3 Tzu Chung advanced trainers and 25 Northrop/AIDC F-5E/F fighters that have been acting as lead-in fighter trainers for decades in the Republic of China Air Force (ROCAF).
This project for 66 new planes will cost Taiwan NTD68.6 billion (US$2.2 billion). Two prototypes are expected to take off sometime in 2020, mass production will start in 2023 and the programme will be completed by 2026. [FULL STORY]
