AIDC F-CK-1 Ching-kuo

Overview

The AIDC F-CK-1 Ching-Kuo (Chinese: 經國號戰機; pinyin: Jīngguó Hào Zhànjī), commonly known as the Indigenous Defense Fighter (IDF), is a multirole combat aircraft named after Chiang Ching-kuo, the late President of the Republic of China. The aircraft made its first flight in 1989. It entered service with Republic of China Air Force (Taiwan) in 1992. All 130 production aircraft were manufactured by 1999. Taiwan initiated the IDF program when the United States refused to sell them F-20 Tigershark and F-16 Fighting Falcon jet fighters following diplomatic pressure from China. Taiwan therefore decided to develop an advanced indigenous jet fighter. The Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation (AIDC), based in Taichung, Taiwan, designed and built the IDF jet fighter.