AIDC delivers final two T-5 Brave Eagle trainers to ROCAF
Taiwan's Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation has completed its seven-year production run of 66 T-5 Brave Eagle advanced jet trainers with the
AIDC delivered the final two T-5 Brave Eagle advanced jet trainers to the Republic of China Air Force on September 24, 2026. The delivery of aircraft numbered 1165 and 1166 completes the production run of 66 aircraft for the indigenous program.
Program completion and timeline
The handover occurred exactly seven years after the first prototype was rolled out in Taichung on September 24, 2019. The program to replace two older training aircraft types launched more than nine years ago. Series production began in 2021.
The advanced jet trainer program was launched in 2017 through contracts involving the air force, National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology and AIDC. Then-President Tsai Ing-wen named the aircraft Brave Eagle during the prototype rollout on September 24, 2019.
Aircraft specifications and origins
The T-5 is a twin-engine advanced jet trainer derived from Taiwan’s F-CK-1 Ching-kuo Indigenous Defense Fighter. It is powered by two F124-200TW turbofan engines. The manufacturer states the T-5’s domestic content is 55%.
AIDC says more than 80% of the aircraft was redesigned, including aerodynamics, external shape and airframe details. The company completed the aircraft’s design and conducted its first flight within three years and two months. The prototype took to the air in June 2020.
Operational role and training impact
The Brave Eagle replaces both the AT-3 Tzu Chung advanced trainer and the F-5E/F fighters previously used for training. It enables the air force to adopt a three-stage, two-aircraft pilot training system that also involves the T-34 trainer aircraft.
The T-5 covers both advanced and lead-in fighter training before student pilots move to frontline fighters. AIDC states the change reduces pilot training from three stages on three aircraft types to three stages on two. The first cadets to transition directly from the basic T-34C to the Brave Eagle, bypassing the intermediate stage, completed their solo-flight tests and began service.
Delivery details and ceremonial flight
The two aircraft took off from Ching Chuan Kang Air Base in Taichung at around 11:00 local time on September 24, 2026. They flew a circuit around Qingquangang Airport and made a low pass over AIDC’s Shalu facility. After the low pass, the aircraft landed at Gangshan, Kaohsiung at 11:36 local time.
AIDC Chairman Tsao Chin-ping flew aboard aircraft 1166 alongside a company test pilot. Delivery was made to the Republic of China Air Force Academy at Gangshan. The ROCAF put the T-5 on public display at Chihhang Air Base in July 2022.
More than 200 Taiwanese suppliers participated in the program. AIDC was the prime contractor, overseeing aircraft design, component production, assembly and testing. Production was affected by shortages of imported systems and components during the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent geopolitical disruption.
AIDC collaborated with NCSIST, ITRI, ARTC, and domestic suppliers to produce hard-to-source parts in-house. AIDC President Chuang Hsiu-mei said the manufacturer brought production of several hard-to-source parts in-house. Chuang Hsiu-mei said: "AIDC delivered 14 aircraft in 2025 and another 14 in 2026, according to Chuang, allowing the company to complete the 66-aircraft production run."
Aircraft 1130 was lost in February 2025 after its pilot reported a dual-engine power failure and ejected safely. With production complete, AIDC said its work on the program will shift to through-life support of the fleet.
