A Taiwan Air Force AT-5 Yung Ying (Brave Eagle) transonic trainer jet crashed on Saturday after taking off from Chihhang Air Base.
The pilot and sole occupant managed to eject safely while the aircraft crashed into the sea after both engines failed.
Developed by Aerospace Industrial Development Corp (AIDC), the AT-5 is the replacement for the AT-3 model and has been delivered to the Air Force since 2021.
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To date, AIDC has delivered 41 of the 66 aircraft ordered, which have a primary training role but are also combat capable.
The aircraft, registered as 1130, was recently delivered and had accumulated only 183 flight hours.
Due to the accident, the Air Force grounded its entire AT-5 fleet until the causes are clarified.
Local media lamented the crash of the aircraft, which could delay the remaining deliveries. The plan was for the last jets to be delivered by 2025.
Derived from the F-CK-1 fighter
Taiwan’s armed forces operate US F-5 and F-16 fighters in addition to Mirage 2000s supplied by France. The threat of invasion by China, which considers the island a ‘rogue province’, motivated the development of a local aerospace industry.
The first aircraft in this effort was the AT-3, a subsonic trainer jet that is being replaced by the AT-5.
The national star, however, is the F-CK-1 fighter, also known as the IDF (Indigenous Defense Fighter), which gave rise to the Brave Eagle and which has around 130 aircraft in service.
The Advanced Trainer Jet program was launched in 2017, and the first prototype flew in June 2020. Deliveries began in November of the following year.
In February 2017, the Ministry of National Defense began development of the Advanced Trainer Jet program. The aircraft was named “Brave Eagle” in September 2019, when the first prototype rolled off the assembly line.
The AT-5 made its first flight in June 2020, and AIDC delivered the first sample of the mass-production model in November 2021.
The jet is powered by Honeywell/ITEC F124-200TW engines derived from the TFE731 civilian turbofan. About 55% of the parts are manufactured in Taiwan.
The aircraft has a maximum takeoff weight of 7,500 kg and can fly at up to 1,030 km/h (547 ktas).
