While the Taiwan Air Force is well trained and well equipped, mostly with US-made equipment, it pales in comparison to China’s. Beijing views the Democratic Island as its own territory and has never relinquished the use of force to bring it under Chinese control.
The Taiwan Air Force said two Air Force F-5E fighters, each with one pilot on board, crashed into the sea off the island’s southeast coast after apparently crashing into mid-air during a training mission.
One pilot was found and transported to hospital by helicopter, but later died, while the other went missing, Air Force Chief of Staff Huang Chih-wei told reporters, adding that the plane was in good condition.
The Air Force has now grounded the F-5 fleet and suspended all training missions, he said.
The US-built F-5 fighters first entered service in Taiwan in the 1970s and have largely ceased front-line operations, although some are still used for training and as backup for the main fleet.
Another F-5 crashed in October, killing the pilot. The following month, a much more modern F-16 crashed off the east coast of Taiwan, and that plane’s pilot also died.
In January last year, Taiwan’s top military official was one of eight people who died after a helicopter transporting them to visit soldiers crashed into a mountainous area near the capital Taipei.
The incidents have raised concerns about both training and maintenance, as well as pressure from the Air Force to respond to repeated Chinese flights near the island.