Following an accident on February 15, in which an aircraft was lost, the Taiwanese Air Force (ROCAF) ordered the grounding of its entire fleet of advanced T-5 Brave Eagle trainers. According to reports, the incident occurred in the morning due to an engine failure in the crashed aircraft, forcing the pilot to eject. In response, authorities have formed an investigative team to determine the causes of the incident.
On Saturday morning, the Headquarters of the Taiwanese Air Force Command reported that shortly after the takeoff of one of the new T-5 Brave Eagle advanced training and light attack aircraft from Chihhang Air Base, a failure in both engines forced the pilot to eject to save his life. Following the incident, the aircraft crashed into the coastal waters of Dulan, in Taitung County.
With the incident under investigation, authorities decided to ground all AIDC T-BE5A Brave Eagle trainers until the cause of the failure is determined. So far, it has been confirmed that the aircraft had logged 183 flight hours before Saturday. Additionally, this marks the first time a Brave Eagle has been involved in an accident since its introduction into the Air Force in 2021.
The introduction of these new trainers is part of a project aimed at replacing the AIDC AT-3 training aircraft and the Northrop F-5E/F Tiger II fighters, as they are considered obsolete for these roles. The new training aircraft are part of a three-phase process involving two aircraft models: the Beechcraft T-34 Mentor and the T-5 Brave Eagle. Previously, three aircraft were used (T-34, AT-3, and F-5). The F-5 Tiger II fleet began to be phased out in mid-2024, with the process expected to be completed within five years.
With a total investment of USD 2.2 billion, the T-5 Brave Eagle prototype was developed through a joint collaboration between Taiwan’s Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation (AIDC), the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST), and the ROCAF to acquire 66 new advanced trainers. The Brave Eagle’s design is based on the twin-seat version of the Indigenous Defense Fighter (IDF) AIDC F-CK-1 Ching-Kuo but incorporates 80% new components.
The first prototype was completed in September 2019 and made its maiden flight in June 2020 at Ching Chuan Kang Air Base in Taichung. Since then, AIDC has been focused on delivering new Brave Eagles to the Taiwanese Air Force. To date, 41 of the 66 aircraft in the program have been delivered, with the remaining units scheduled for completion by 2026.
You may also like: Taiwan confirms the purchase of new NASAMS air defense systems from the U.S. to equip its Armed Forces
