Military silent on suspected Brave Eagle debris found in Taitung

Taitung, Sept. 6 (CNA) Taiwan's military on Friday retrieved a metal object discovered by beach cleaners in Taitung County that was believed to be debris from a Brave Eagle advanced jet trainer (AJT), but declined to confirm its nature.

The object was found by a crew hired by the county government to clean the beach in the Fushan Fisheries Resources Conservation Area in Beinan Township. It measured about 2 meters long, 50-60 centimeters wide, and weighed more than 100 kilograms.

Workers said it bore a distinctive paint scheme, printed numbers, and the words "do not step" and "operate with care" in Chinese.

One of the cleaners, Chang Chen-te (張振德), told local media that they first assumed the piece was from a drone. After comparing photos online, however, they believed it to be the aileron of a Brave Eagle's wing.

The crew notified the military, which later retrieved the object. The armed forces have not confirmed whether it came from an AJT.

The Brave Eagle AJT fleet was jointly developed by the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science & Technology (NCSIST) and the state-funded Aerospace Industrial Development Corp. (AIDC) to replace the Air Force's aging AT-3 Tzu Chung trainers, which will be completely decommissioned by 2026.

Since entering service, only one Brave Eagle has crashed -- on Feb. 15, when both engines failed and the aircraft went down off Taitung. The pilot ejected safely and was rescued.