Indigenous jet trainer delivery delay due to sourced parts: MND

Taipei, March 12 (CNA) The delay in the delivery of a batch of domestically made trainer jets to the Air Force is due to problems with "external procurement components and systems," Taiwan's military said in a report sent to lawmakers for review on Wednesday.

The military's top research unit, the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science & Technology (NCSIST) and government-funded Aerospace Industrial Development Corp (AIDC) are now replacing some of the parts ordered externally with components made in Taiwan, the report said.

The report was issued to explain to lawmakers why AIDC had only delivered 43 of the 66 Brave Eagle advanced jet trainers (AJT) to the Air Force by the end of February instead of the 47 contracted.

It said AIDC told NCSIST that delivery of the planes was behind schedule primarily because of delays in the shipment of seven "externally bought systems and parts."

The seven parts and systems consist of engines, environmental control systems, canopy protection systems, landing gear, hydraulic tanks, air door actuators, and emergency shut-off valves, the MND said.

AIDC and the NCSIST are now replacing three of the seven -- the hydraulic tanks, air door actuators, and emergency shut-off valves -- with domestically made ones in order to catch up with the delivery schedule.

On the other four systems, AIDC is working with suppliers to have them expedite their shipments, the MND said.

The Republic of China (ROC) Air Force started to receive the domestically made trainers from AIDC in 2021 to replace its aging AT-3 jet trainers.

Aside from the 47 planes to be delivered by the end of February, the remaining aircraft are scheduled to be delivered in the first half of 2026.