Taiwan has completed the design of its own third-generation fighter jet with Russian expertise, to make up for a scuppered U.S. purchase deal, a newspaper report said yesterday.The fighter, developed by Taiwan's government-owned Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation (AIDC), is based on the F-35 Lightning II joint strike fighter (JSF) being developed for the U.S. Air Force, the China Times said.
Designed by Lockheed Martin of the U.S., the F-35 carries a price tag of more than US$90 million, it said.
Taiwan began developing the jet after a deal to buy F-16 C/D fighters ran aground in 2007 as Washington disapproved of the pro-independence policies of the Democratic Progressive Party which was then in power, it said.
That deal, worth at least NT$100 billion (US$3.3 billion) , would have been Washington's biggest arms sale to the island since 2001.
The newspaper said the design for the fighter, with double engines and short take-off ability, was completed after AIDC sent staff to Russia. It did not specify which Russian agency or company was involved.
China has threatened to invade Taiwan should it declare formal independence, prompting the island to acquire more advanced weaponry.
The two sides have been rivals since splitting in 1949 after a civil war but ties have improved dramatically since the Beijing-friendly Kuomintang party came to power last year.
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