With efforts to acquire F-16C/D aircraft from the US in limbo, the air force was yesterday given a shot in the arm when it received the first six of a planned 71 upgraded multi-role Indigenous Defence Fighters (IDF).
The F-CK-1A/B MLU (“mid-life upgrade”) was unveiled during a handover ceremony at the Aerospace Industrial Development Corp (AIDC, 漢翔航空) plant in Shalu (沙鹿), Greater Taichung, attended by top brass and scores of politicians, including President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), Deputy Minister of National Defense Chao Shih-chang (趙世璋) and Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強).
Years in the making, the upgrade involves a revamping of the aircraft’s avionics and flight control systems, a triple-color heads-up display and anti-electronic jamming functions, as well as the full integration of air-to-ground and air-to-air missiles developed by the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology (中山科學研究院), such as the Tien Chien II “Sky Sword.”
Photo: Sam Yeh, AFP
It is reported that the aircraft will also be fit to carry the Tien Chien IIA anti-radiation missile, which remains under development. The aircraft can now carry four air-to-air missiles, from two on the original model.
Although it had been previously reported that the upgraded aircraft would have a greater operational range, the range is unchanged, and the twin Honeywell F125-70 afterburning turbofan engines are the same as on the original model.
The first six revamped aircraft, which are part of a US$588 million first phase of upgrades, are to join the 443 Tactical Fighter Wing in Greater Tainan.
Shiah Kang (夏康), senior vice president at state-owned AIDC, told the Taipei Times that between 28 and 30 F-CK-1A/B MLUs were scheduled for delivery this year, with the remainder due by the end of next year.
Shiah said that depending on the budget, the remainder of the IDFs in the air force, or 56 aircraft, could be upgraded as part of an MLU-2 program.
Under phase two of the project, AIDC would provide the air force with a range of options to meet a variety of tactical requirements, he said.
Addressing the ceremony, Ma said that when the IDF, a domestic program, was being developed in the 1980s after the US refused to sell Taiwan F-20s and F-16s, skeptics would jest that IDF stood for “I don’t fly.”
Over the years, the meaning of the acronym has changed and I hope it can now stand for “I do fight” and “I don’t fail,” Ma said.
The initial IDFs were introduced to the air force in 1994, with the first revamping program launched in 2000.
While the upgrade points to advances in Taiwanese avionics and capabilities, defense experts and Lockheed, maker of the F-16, say the new IDF is insufficient to ensure parity with an increasingly modern People’s Liberation Army Air Force.
In addition to the IDF program, a US$4.5 billion plan to upgrade Taiwan’s fleet of 144 F-16A/Bs is expected to commence later this year or next year.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique