Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation (AIDC)

Not really an open house of the ROCAF but on a rainy afternoon in April I had the opportunity to visit the Aircraft Heritage park at the AIDC factory in Taichung City.

In the late 1960's, Taiwan's aerospace industry was founded in response to the implementation of national security and defense self-reliance policies mandated by the Taiwan authorities. Since the 1980's, Taiwan authorities have focused on the aerospace industry as a key strategic industry.

The Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation AIDC (under the Ministry of Economic Affairs) is Taiwan's premier military and commercial aircraft and parts manufacturer. AIDC worked together with CSIST and Lockheed Martin to design and produce 130 Indigenous Defense Fighter (IDF) aircraft. In addition, AIDC has produced PL-1 Primary Trainers, T-CH-1 Basic Trainers, AT-3 Advanced Jet Trainers, UH-1H Helicopters and F-5A/E Fighters.

The Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation (AIDC), previously known as the Aero Industry Development Center, was established in March 1969 under the Ministry of National Defense. In July 1996 the military-run AIDC was restructured as a state-run enterprise under the Ministry of Economic Affairs. This conversion from military to public enterprise status is intended to facilitate the transfer of Taiwan's military aeronautic technology to the private sector while enabling AIDC to form joint ventures with high-tech foreign manufacturers. This in turn is expected to bring advanced aviation technology into Taiwan to accelerate the growth of its aerospace industry.

AIDC was founded to secure an aerospace manufacturing capability in Taiwan. It began in 1968 with the production of the PL-1B, a primary trainer and licensed version of the Pazmany PL-1, a two-seat trainer from Pazmany Aircraft Corporation. The UH-1H was licensed for co-production in AIDC. From 1970 to 1976 118 UH-1H were built for the ROC Army. The T-CH-1 is a basic trainer derived from the North American T-28 Trojan. Between 1976 and 1981 50 aircraft were built for the Republic of China Air Force. Another license built aircraft is the Northrop F-5E/F Tiger II. By 1973, AIDC had built 242 F-5E's and 66 F-5F's. To replace the aging C-47 and C-119 a local transport aircraft was developed. Of this XC-2 only 1 prototype was built. AIDC has since developed two indigenous jet aircraft, the AT-3 jet trainer and the Indigenous Defense Fighter (IDF).

In 2016 AIDC launched a project with international partner Lockheed Martin to develop an upgraded version of the F-16 called the F-16V. Upgrades to 142 of Taiwan’s F-16A/B fighters to the F-16V standard began in 2016. The first four aircraft upgrades had been completed by December 2017. The first domestically upgraded fighter was delivered on October 20, 2018. The Advanced Jet Trainer Program (AJT) began in the early 2000s as the Republic of China Air Force sought a replacement for its fleet of AIDC AT-3 and Northrop F-5 advanced trainers with 66 newly built aircraft. Three designs were proposed, a modernized AT-3 branded as the AT-3 MAX, an evolution of the AIDC F-CK-1 Ching-Kuo called the XAT-5, or the Alenia Aermacchi M-346 Master. In 2017 it was announced that the XAT-5 had won the tender with development and production to be undertaken by a partnership of AIDC and the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology. To date 3 prototypes have been built and the first production aircraft have been delivered to Taitung/Chihhang.

I would like to thank Sabrina Chou from AIDC who made this visit possible.