A ceremony was held yesterday at Hualien Air Base to mark the official retirement of the air force’s F-5 jets after more than 50 years of patrolling Taiwan’s skies.
The event began with the 5th Tactical Fighter Wing flying a sortie consisting of three RF-5E reconnaissance aircraft and two F-5F jets.
After a brief ceremonial flight around the Hualien base and Taiwan’s east coast, the planes were showered with a water salute upon their return.
Photo: CNA
Air force Colonel Hsu Chun-jung (許俊榮), who was among the pilots that took part in the sortie, reported back to Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) saying “mission accomplished.”
In his speech at the ceremony, Po said that the air force was retiring all of the remaining F-5F jets and RF-5E reconnaissance aircraft, which were converted from F-5E jets by Singapore Aerospace Manufacturing in 1997.
The F5-E fighter jets, which were the backbone of the F-5 fleet, were retired in 2023.
Photo: Chiang Ying-ying, AP
“Their retirement today symbolizes an end to the F-5 era,” he said, adding that their missions would be taken over by the RF-16 aircraft.
Speaking to reporters after the sortie, Hsu said that despite it being the plane’s last patrol, the mission was carried out flawlessly.
Although the RF-5Es are now retired, they have preserved many valuable reconnaissance images of Taiwan, he said.
Photo: Chiang Ying-ying, AP
Retired air force colonel Sung Wen-hsi (宋文溪) earlier this week described the Northrop F-5E/F, a variant of the supersonic light fighter known as the Tiger II, as a formidable jet back in the day.
Before the 1995 Taiwan Strait Crisis, the air force was quite powerful and routinely carried out reconnaissance patrols over the airspace of the Kinmen and Matsu, Sung said.
At the time, the air force even demonstrated “a show of power” by flying patrol missions close to China’s coastline, the retired F-5E/F pilot said.
Huang Yang-te (黃揚德), also a retired colonel, said the air force found ways to equip the F-5E/F jets with various capabilities to fulfill combat readiness missions, citing the example that some single-seat F-5Es could even launch Maverick missiles.
The air force began operating F-5A/B jets in 1965.
In 1973, Taiwan partnered with US aircraft manufacturer Northrop Corp to produce the F-5E model domestically under what became known as the Tiger Peace Project.
The first Taiwan-built F-5E rolled out the following year.
Taiwan manufactured a total of 308 jets under the project, including 242 single-seat F-5Es and 66 twin-seat F-5Fs.
The F-5 served as the nation’s main combat aircraft from the 1970s through the 1990s before being reassigned for training purposes.
The F-5E/F jets have ended their training role as the air force is receiving Brave Eagle jet trainers developed under the indigenous aircraft program.
Taiwan's Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) said Saturday that she would not be intimidated by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), following reports that Chinese agents planned to ram her car during a visit to the Czech Republic last year. "I had a great visit to Prague & thank the Czech authorities for their hospitality & ensuring my safety," Hsiao said on social media platform X. "The CCP's unlawful activities will NOT intimidate me from voicing Taiwan's interests in the international community," she wrote. Hsiao visited the Czech Republic on March 18 last year as vice president-elect and met with Czech Senate leadership, including
There have been clear signs of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) attempts to interfere in the nationwide recall vote on July 26 in support of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators facing recall, an unnamed government official said, warning about possible further actions. The CCP is actively involved in Taiwanese politics, and interference in the recall vote is to be expected, with multiple Chinese state media and TAO attempts to discredit the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and undermine public support of their recall movement, the official said. This interference includes a smear campaign initiated this month by a pro-Beijing Hong Kong news outlet against
A week-long exhibition on modern Tibetan history and the Dalai Lama’s global advocacy opened yesterday in Taipei, featuring quotes and artworks highlighting human rights and China’s ongoing repression of Tibetans, Hong Kongers and Uighurs. The exhibition, the first organized by the Human Rights Network for Tibet and Taiwan (HRNTT), is titled “From the Snowy Ridges to the Ocean of Wisdom.” “It would be impossible for Tibetans inside Tibet to hold an exhibition like this — we can do it. because we live in a free and democratic country,” HRNTT secretary-general Tashi Tsering said. Tashi Tsering, a Taiwan-based Tibetan who has never
A first shipment of five tons of Taiwan tilapia was sent from Tainan to Singapore on Wednesday, following an order valued at NT$600,000 (US$20,500) placed with a company in the city. The products, including frozen whole fish and pre- cooked fish belly, were dispatched from Jiangjun Fishing Harbor, where a new aquatic processing and logistics center is under construction. At the launch, Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che (黃偉哲) called the move a “breakthrough,” marking Taiwan’s expansion into the Singaporean tilapia market. Taiwan’s tilapia exports have traditionally focused on the United States, Canada, and the Middle East, Huang said, adding that the new foothold in