The nation’s main domestic aircraft developer yesterday said that it has completed the first stage of design for a military trainer aircraft destined to replace the air force’s Beechcraft T-34C trainers, which are near the end of their service life.
With the completion of the first stage of the design process, the second stage can start once the air force initiates the process to develop and build a new trainer jet, Aerospace Industrial Development Corp (AIDC) said.
A prototype could be built by 2028 and mass production begin in 2031, AIDC said in a statement.
Photo: Ritchie B. Tongo, EPA-EFE
The plan to develop and build 45 domestically made trainers would cost an estimated NT$21.4 billion (US$690.3 million), AIDC said, while obtaining the same number of planes from other nations would cost NT$18.6 billion.
Some savings might be derived from maintenance fees spent on domestically built planes over a lifespan of 25 years, which are estimated at NT$52 billion, less than the about NT$52.9 billion that would be needed for aircraft purchased from abroad, it said.
Investing in domestically produced jets would help boost the economy and create nearly NT$39 billion in spillover effects, AIDC said.
The air force purchased 49 Beechcraft T-34C trainers in 1985, with 40 of them still in service.
Given that the T-34Cs have been in service for nearly 40 years and are not equipped with ejection seats designed to save a pilot’s life in an emergency, several legislators have urged the air force to replace its aging fleet of trainers.
The T-34Cs are to be gradually taken out of service starting in 2033, military and aerospace industry sources said.
About 200 domestic companies have the ability to participate in the development of Taiwan’s first locally designed trainer and more than 70 percent of its components are expected to be made domestically, the sources said.
AIDC said building a new trainer jet domestically would be crucial for the nation’s aerospace sector because it would help bolster its capacity to make high-end aircraft systems and spare parts in preparation for developing next-generation fighter jets.
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