Aerospace Industrial Development Corp (AIDC, 漢翔航空工業), the nation’s largest civilian and military aircraft manufacturer, yesterday demonstrated two new prototype trainer jets at a Taipei aerospace trade fair in a move to show its resolve in vying for the Republic of China Air Force’s NT$69 billion (US$2.1 billion) project to upgrade its aging fleet of 66 trainer aircraft.
The two new advanced trainer jets — the XAT-5, a stripped-down variant of the F-CK1, and the AT-3MAX, an upgraded variant of the aging AT-3 featuring revamped radar systems and an improved engine — were on display at the biennial Taipei Aerospace and Defense Technology Exhibition, which began yesterday.
In response to rumors that the armed forces might be favoring the Italian-built M-346 trainer, AIDC chairman Anson Liao (廖榮鑫) said President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) had pledged that even if the procurement deal fell to a foreign bidder, the aircraft would still be built in Taiwan.
Photo: AP
AIDC is also facing competition from the South Korean-built T-50.
“Given AIDC’s track record of building and designing the indigenously developed F-CK1s and AT-3 trainer jets, the company is the ideal choice to build the nation’s next generation of trainer aircraft,” said Liao, a former air force pilot.
The deal is crucial for AIDC, as it is expected to yield revenue of NT$200 billion for parts and maintenance over their service life spanning the next two decades, Liao said.
However, with delivery of the jets to begin in 2019, the armed forces has not indicated a clear timetable for AIDC, Liao said.
“Uncertainties remains in the Ministry of National Defense’s final decision on combat specifications and budget, but AIDC is fully capable of overcoming all technical challenges,” he said.
AIDC is pushing for at least 50 percent domestic production for the next-generation aircraft, although it is difficult to gauge what the air force’s decision will be regarding the training aircraft, Liao said.
“If the goal is to train our pilots for the Lockheed Martin F-35, a certain type of trainer jet would be required, while other fighters require different training aircraft,” he said.
Seperately, Yuanta Securities Investment Consulting Co (元大投顧) said AIDC would not be affected by Lockheed Martin’s acquisition of Sikorsky, a major client of the Taiwanese firm with a 6 percent revenue contribution last year.
“In addition, the company has broken into the supply chain for the China-built C919, making company immune to competition between the Airbus A320 and the Boeing B737 short-to-medium range narrow-body airliner,” Yuanta analyst Livia Wu (吳靚芙) said in a report on Wednesday, adding that she is positive over AIDC’s commercial aircraft and general aviation businesses.
Last quarter, AIDC recorded net income of NT$444.6 million, or NT$0.49 per share, on sales of NT$6.9 billion. Net income in the first half came to NT$868 million, or NT$0.95 per share, on sales of NT$12.8 billion.
AIDC shares gained 0.27 percent to close at NT$37.65 in Taipei trading yesterday.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday said that its investment plan in Arizona is going according to schedule, following a local media report claiming that the company is planning to break ground on its third wafer fab in the US in June. In a statement, TSMC said it does not comment on market speculation, but that its investments in Arizona are proceeding well. TSMC is investing more than US$65 billion in Arizona to build three advanced wafer fabs. The first one has started production using the 4-nanometer (nm) process, while the second one would start mass production using the
A TAIWAN DEAL: TSMC is in early talks to fully operate Intel’s US semiconductor factories in a deal first raised by Trump officials, but Intel’s interest is uncertain Broadcom Inc has had informal talks with its advisers about making a bid for Intel Corp’s chip-design and marketing business, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Nothing has been submitted to Intel and Broadcom could decide not to pursue a deal, according to the Journal. Bloomberg News earlier reported that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is in early talks for a controlling stake in Intel’s factories at the request of officials at US President Donald Trump’s administration, as the president looks to boost US manufacturing and maintain the country’s leadership in critical technologies. Trump officials raised the
‘SILVER LINING’: Although the news caused TSMC to fall on the local market, an analyst said that as tariffs are not set to go into effect until April, there is still time for negotiations US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said that he would likely impose tariffs on semiconductor, automobile and pharmaceutical imports of about 25 percent, with an announcement coming as soon as April 2 in a move that would represent a dramatic widening of the US leader’s trade war. “I probably will tell you that on April 2, but it’ll be in the neighborhood of 25 percent,” Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago club when asked about his plan for auto tariffs. Asked about similar levies on pharmaceutical drugs and semiconductors, the president said that “it’ll be 25 percent and higher, and it’ll
CHIP BOOM: Revenue for the semiconductor industry is set to reach US$1 trillion by 2032, opening up opportunities for the chip pacakging and testing company, it said ASE Technology Holding Co (日月光投控), the world’s largest provider of outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) services, yesterday launched a new advanced manufacturing facility in Penang, Malaysia, aiming to meet growing demand for emerging technologies such as generative artificial intelligence (AI) applications. The US$300 million facility is a critical step in expanding ASE’s global footprint, offering an alternative for customers from the US, Europe, Japan, South Korea and China to assemble and test chips outside of Taiwan amid efforts to diversify supply chains. The plant, the company’s fifth in Malaysia, is part of a strategic expansion plan that would more than triple
RSS