The nation’s first indigenously manufactured advanced jet trainer, the Aerospace Industrial Development Corp (AIDC) T-5 (AT-5) Yung Ying (勇鷹, “Brave Eagle”), yesterday conducted its first preflight taxi test ahead of its planned flight test later this month.
Manufactured by AIDC, the AT-5 is scheduled to undergo flight testing at about the time of the Dragon Boat Festival, said a Ministry of National Defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The taxi test was conducted at the Ching Chuan Kang Air Force Base (清泉崗) in Taichung by AIDC, the ministry and the air force.
Photo courtesy of Military News Agency
The ministry did not announce the test to avoid attracting a crowd, but despite its best efforts, aviation enthusiasts still appeared in droves, the official said.
“We need to make some adjustments according to the results of the taxi tests, but plans for a first test flight in late June have not changed,” the official said, adding that test schedules have not been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We plan to hold two to three more taxi tests, including high-speed taxi tests, before the test flight,” the official said, adding that President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) would be invited to oversee the test flight.
Two AIDC Indigenous Defense Fighters would be accompanying and assessing the test flight, as well as recording the event, the official said.
The initial test flight would be simple, with the AT-5 taking off and circling above the airport at a limited height before landing, the official said, adding that the airplane’s landing gear would remain extended during the flight.
The airplane’s design was completed in March 2018, with the A1 prototype — intended for testing — completed on Sept. 4 last year, the official said.
AIDC plans to deliver 66 AT-5s to the air force by 2026 to replace the AT-3s, which the air force plans to retire.
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
LITTORAL REGIMENTS: The US Marine Corps is transitioning to an ‘island hopping’ strategy to counterattack Beijing’s area denial strategy The US Marine Corps (USMC) has introduced new anti-drone systems to bolster air defense in the Pacific island chain amid growing Chinese military influence in the region, The Telegraph reported on Sunday. The new Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) Mk 1 is being developed to counter “the growing menace of unmanned aerial systems,” it cited the Marine Corps as saying. China has constructed a powerful defense mechanism in the Pacific Ocean west of the first island chain by deploying weapons such as rockets, submarines and anti-ship missiles — which is part of its anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy against adversaries — the
Eleven people, including actor Darren Wang (王大陸), were taken into custody today for questioning regarding the evasion of compulsory military service and document forgery, the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. Eight of the people, including Wang, are suspected of evading military service, while three are suspected of forging medical documents to assist them, the report said. They are all being questioned by police and would later be transferred to the prosecutors’ office for further investigation. Three men surnamed Lee (李), Chang (張) and Lin (林) are suspected of improperly assisting conscripts in changing their military classification from “stand-by
RSS