AIDC F - CK - 1 Ching - kuo The AIDC F - CK - 1 " Ching - kuo " ( 經國號戰機 ) , commonly known as the Indigenous Defence Fighter ( IDF ) , is a Taiwanese air superiority jet fighter with multirole capability named after Chiang Ching - kuo , the late President of the Republic of China . The aircraft made its first flight in 1989 . It entered active service with the Republic of China Air Force in 1994 , and all 130 production aircraft had been manufactured by 1999 . The IDF program was initiated when the United States of America refused to sell F - 20 Tigershark and F - 16 Fighting Falcon fighters to the Taiwan ( Republic of China ) following pressure from the People ' s Republic of China ( PRC ) . The Republic of China therefore decided to develop an indigenous fighter . The IDF jet fighter project was designed and built by the Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation ( AIDC ) based in Taichung , Taiwan , with assistance from American defense corporations . Development . The preliminary search for a replacement for the Republic of China Air Force ' s F - 5 s and F - 104 s began with the XF - 6 indigenous fighter project , later renamed " Yin Yang " , in the late 1970s . After the US established formal relations with the People ' s Republic of China and ended the Mutual Defense Treaty with Republic of China , President Chiang Ching - Kuo decided to expand the indigenous defense industry and on August 28 , 1980 , ordered AIDC to design an indigenous interceptor . Originally , the ROCAF listed the priority of the XF - 6 behind the XA - 3 " Lei Ming " attack aircraft , due to the believed high risks of the XF - 6 project . The signing of the 1982 US - PRC Joint Communiqué , limited arms sales to the Republic of China . The United States refused to sell the General Dynamics F - 16 Fighting Falcon and the Northrop F - 20 Tigershark ( which had been developed largely to meet Taiwanese needs for a follow - on to its F - 5s , ) therefore ensuring the continuation of the indigenous fighter project . Although US President Ronald Reagan reluctantly accepted his advisers ' suggestion of building relations with the People ' s Republic of China to counter the USSR , Reagan decided to balance the 1982 US - PRC Communiqué with the " Six Assurances " to Taiwan . This opened the door for US technology transfer and assistance to Taiwan ' s defense industry , including the IDF project . Design . The AIDC officially began the IDF development project in May 1982 following the ROCAF ' s failure to purchase new fighters from the United States as a result of the PRC ' s diplomatic pressure . The project was named " An Hsiang " ( 安翔 ) : Safe Flight ) and divided into four sections in 1983 : The greatest difficulties were encountered by the propulsion group in attempting to develop or acquire suitable advanced jet engines . There is also speculation that the use of less powerful engines was due to political rather than technical reasons , namely that the US did not want to see the Republic of China provoke the People ' s Republic of China and thus mandated the IDF to have a " range no greater than the F - 5E " and " ground attack capability no greater than the F - 16 " . Regardless of the reason , many people consider the original 1980s prototype F - CK - 1 to be somewhat underpowered due to its original engines . In April 1997 American company Litton ' s Applied Technology division was awarded a production contract and options totaling $ 116 . 2 million by the Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation for Improved Radar Warning Receivers ( IRWR ) to be installed aboard . Yun Han : engine research . Exports of advanced engines such as the General Electric F404 or the Pratt & Whitney F100 were not available to the Republic of China . Both the General Electric J85 and General Electric J79 were considered unsuitable in their performance , and most European and American engine companies declined to cooperate with the Republic of China . Joint investment with Garrett became the only practical solution . In 1978 , following the success of the TFE731 engine , U . S . engine company Garrett announced joint research of the TFE1042 afterburner with the Swedish company Volvo Flygmotor . The TFE731 Model 1042 was touted as a low bypass ratio " military derivative of the proven commercial TFE731 engine " and that it would provide " efficient , reliable , cost effective propulsion for the next generation of light strike and advanced trainer aircraft " , with a thrust of 4260 lbf ( 18 . 9 kN ) dry and 6790 lbf ( 30 . 2 kN ) with afterburner . After the initial negotiation , the investment was going to be divided between Garrett , Volvo , AIDC , and the Italian company Piaggio . The development would consist of the non - afterburning TFE1042 - 6 for light attack aircraft and advanced trainers , and the TFE1042 - 7 for the AMX or the F - 5 upgrade . AIDC also suggested upgrading the TFE1042 - 7 to thrust in a twin - engine installation , in order to compete with the GE F404 . However , the JAS 39 Gripen project decided to continue with a single F404 , and Piaggio asked to participate at a later date due to financial concerns . ITEC completely redesigned the TFE1042 - 7 into the TFE1042 - 70 - for example , the bypass ratio was changed from 0 . 84 to 0 . 4 - , and the investment had increased from USD 180 million to about USD 320 million . However , to avoid pressures from the PRC , the United States government had asked all the US companies cooperating with the Republic of China on the IDF project to remain low - key . Therefore , the perception that " the TFE1042 is merely the civilian engine TFE731 with an afterburner " was never completely dispelled . In 1985 , the preliminary review of the IDF ' s design revealed some performance requirement shortfalls , and it was determined that an upgrade of engine thrust by 10 % was the simplest solution . Due to American export license restrictions , ITEC used FADEC to artificially limit the thrust below a certain altitude ( the restriction was not removed until 1990 ) . Although the upgrade essentially used the TFE1088 - 11 configuration , to reduce political interference ITEC renamed the original , lower - thrust version as the TFE1042 - X70 and retained the TFE1042 - 70 designation for the upgraded version . In 1988 , ITEC decided to invest in the thrust TFE1088 - 12 , which was re - designated as the TFE1042 - 70A for political reason as well . Preliminary studies had shown that the IDF could supercruise with the new engine . At the same time , General Electric Aviation decided to enter the market with the J101 / SF , a smaller version of the F404 . However , after the IDF order was cut in half due to budget concerns , the TFE1088 - 12 engine upgrade plan ended as well . Yin Yang : Aerodynamic Design . The cooperation between AIDC and General Dynamics ( GD ) was divided into four phases : GD ' s assistance was restricted by the US State Department ' s arms export control , which limited GD ' s work to initial design consulting but not further development , production , or marketing . Many different airframe design concepts were explored ( e . g . the 2D Thrust - Vectoring nozzle of XX - 201 , the double delta wings / twin tailed 401 ) . After the General Electric J79 was officially abandoned as the potential engine solution in 1983 , three configurations emerged from AIDC . At the same time , GD worked on the G configuration in parallel . Eventually the G - 4 was selected , but with many features of the C - 2 integrated . During this time , the project was named the " Light Weight Defense Fighter " . In 1985 , the configuration conceptual design had evolved into the SE - 1 preliminary design . By the end of 1985 , AIDC decided to skip the prototype stage and go into Full Scale Development ( FSD ) directly , in order to reduce time and save money . The project was again renamed into the " Indigenous Defense Fighter " . Four FSD aircraft were made , with three single - seaters and one double - seater . Tien Lei : Avionics Integration . The IDF is equipped with a GD - 53 " Golden Dragon " multi - mode monopulse Pulse - Doppler radar , which is based on the General Electric AN / APG - 67 X band radar developed for the F - 20 while sharing some components and technologies of the AN / APG - 66 radar of the F - 16A , and using a larger antenna than used by the F - 20 . and this adaptation resulted in the look - down and shoot - down capability of GD - 53 being greatly enhanced in comparison to that of the original AN / APG - 67 , reaching that of the AN / APG - 66 . The radar can simultaneously track 10 targets and engage two of the 10 targets tracked with TC - 2 active radar seeker BVRAAMs . The design is inherently unstable in pitch , so the IDF incorporated a modern triple - redundant full authority fly - by - wire control system . The avionics suite was based on modular architecture with dual redundant MIL - STD - 1553B digital databuses . The Honeywell H423 Inertial navigation system , the TWS - 95 RHAWS , and the Bendix - King Head - up display were selected . Some capabilities may have been delayed or dropped in order to meet the performance requirement , since the engine limitation has resulted in the necessity of strict weight control . " Tien Chien " : Missile R & D . The CSIST ' s " Tien Chien " ( Sky Sword ) project was slightly more independent , since it was considered to be a development for all the ROCAF ' s aircraft rather than only the IDF . The Tien Chien 1 ( TC - 1 ) is a short range infrared - seeking missile with an external configuration similar to that of the AIM - 9 Sidewinder , while the Tien Chien 2 ( TC - 2 ) is an active radar homing Beyond Visual Range missile that is claimed to be in the same class as the AIM - 120 AMRAAM . The first test firing of the TC - 1 missile was performed by an F - 5E in April 1986 , with the Beech target drone successfully destroyed . Initial production of the TC - 1 began in 1989 , and it entered service in 1991 . Both the AIM - 9 and the TC - 1 have been seen in use on operational IDFs . CSIST is believed to have cooperated with Motorola and Raytheon on the TC - 2 ' s active seeker , which is believed to be based on their seeker design which was proposed for the AIM - 120 . 40 pre - production TC - 2 missiles were produced before 1995 , and were the only BVR AAMs that the ROCAF had in its inventory during the 1995 - 1996 Taiwan Strait Missile Crisis . Over 200 production TC - 2s were originally planned . Variants . F - CK - 1 A / B " Ching - kuo " . The first successful test flight by FSD A1 was made on May 28 , 1989 . The first two - seater ( and the fourth prototype ) , FSD B1 , conducted its first flight on July 10 , 1990 . The first successful firing of the " Tien - Chien II " ( Sky Sword II ) air to air missile took place in 1992 , with the ROCAF establishing its first F - CK - 1 squadron the following year with a batch of 10 pre - production aircraft . The ROCAF ' s initial order for 256 aircraft was cut to 130 in 1991 , following deals for the purchase of 150 F - 16 Block 20 A / B and 60 Mirage 2000 - 5Ei / Di with the US and France . The last IDF A / B rolled off the production line in 1999 . F - CK - 1 C / D " Hsiang Sheng " . The ROC ' s Ministry of National Defense ( MND ) announced that beginning in 2001 , the government would include a new budget allocation for the IDF upgrade plan ( as included in the five MND proposals to help AIDC ) . The five proposals were : In a 2006 interview in Jane ' s Defence Weekly , former AIDC Chairman Sun Tao - Yu said that two new prototypes had been manufactured . The upgrade would allow the IDF to carry an additional 771 kg of fuel . In addition , it includes an improved avionics suite , retrofitted electronic warfare capabilities , and new weapons systems . The landing gear has been strengthened to accommodate the additional payload and fuel , but the plan for a dielectric radar - absorbing " stealth " fuselage was dropped due to concerns over weight . The project consists of three phases : The development contract for the upgraded IDF C / D flight control computer was awarded in 2002 to a more advanced BAE Systems . AIDC said that the improvements of the flight computer will result in " a safer , higher - performing aircraft " . The first test flight of the upgraded IDF was reportedly successfully completed a few days ahead of schedule in early October . A decision on production of the aircraft has not yet been announced . However , some media have already begun to speculate about project " Hsiang Sheng " ’ s demise , due to ROCAF ’ s recent interests in procuring Block 50 / 52 F - 16s and some ROCAF officials ' lack of confidence in the IDF upgrade project . On March 27 , 2007 , President Chen Shui - Bian witnessed a test flight of F - CK - 1D , and announced that the upgraded IDF will be named " Hsiung Ying " ( Brave Hawk ) , which signifies that the new fighter would protect the homeland just like the Crested Goshawk . As of 12 / 2009 , 71 F - CK - 1 A / B are upgrading to F - CK - 1 C / D over 4 years span for over US $ 500 million , according to AIDC CEO , under Project " Hsiang Chan " ( 翔展 ) , as AIDC and ROCAF had signed a contract for the expected upgrade program . IDF Lead - in Fighter Trainer . According to the media , the AIDC IDF trainer concept apparently involved the removal of the fire control radar and combat systems with the retention of rear - seat flight controls , so that the IDF could be used as a lead - in fighter trainer ( LIFT ) . The ROCAF seemed to have reservations with the concept , however , as it would mean the IDF LIFT would not be usable in wartime . A MND letter said , " Regarding the newspaper report of AIDC ' s desire to use the IDF fighter as a basis for supersonic trainer development , it is only that company ' s operational planning concept . The Ministry of National Defense and the Air Force currently do not have such a plan " . The letter then said that due to a tight budget allocation the ROCAF would instead ask AIDC to extend the life of the AT - 3 and continue to use the F - 5 in the LIFT role . In 2003 , the former AIDC Chairman Huang Jung - Te said that AIDC still hoped the ROCAF would consider using a simplified version of the IDF for LIFT , and that such a concept could have a cost as low as USD 16 million per unit , compared to the T - 50 ' s USD 19 million . However , the F - CK - 1 LIFT modifications or new production concepts never received government funding or approval . In May 2006 , Lt . General Cheng Shih - Yu testified that the MND indeed plans to retire the F - 5E / F by 2010 and allow the in - service IDFs to take over training missions . It is unclear what modifications ( if any ) will be made to IDFs after they become trainers . All ROCAF pilots selected and sent to US and France to receive training on F - 16 block 20 and Mirage 2000 - 5 fighters had to have flown with IDF / F - CK - 1 for at least 6 months , which makes IDF a LIFT except in name . Advanced Defense Fighter . There were some initial concepts for further developments of the IDF project . After the IDF basic variant was finalized , the next step would have involved an upgrade with systems improvement , new avionic technologies , and adjustments of material and weight . The next IDF would have configuration modifications , performance improvement , advanced technologies , composite carbon materials that will absorb radiation thus to minimize the radar detection and applications of advanced weapons . Finally , the next generation design would have taken place . Some of the studies have been completed and incorporate into the upgrade version already . Most of the projected work would proceed if Taiwan was denied of purchase of US planes . Funding for additional futuristic work always depends on the politicians and external sponsorship like United States Government willingness to sell more advanced fighters to the Taiwan ( ROC ) government . Upgrades . The first stage of upgrades to the fleet should be complete by 2013 , which will include improved electronics and lifespan extensions .