AIDC F-CK-1 Ching-Kuo

The F-CK-1 "Ching-Kuo" was an ambitious and indigenous multirole fighter design in the vein of the F-16 Fighting Falcon as undertaken by the island-nation of Taiwan in the early 1980's. A US-imposed embargo forced the Taiwanese nation to look inside for an answer to rival the aircraft available on the market. As such, AIDC produced a highly-capable though expensive western alternative in the F-CK-1 series that is named after the former Taiwanese president.

The initial desire on the part of Taiwan was to purchase American-made F-16 Fighting Falcons and the F-20 Tigershark systems. The embargo clearly banned any sales of this type but not American logistical support to indigenous designs. As such, AlliedSignal (which later was to become Honeywell) teamed up with the International Turbofan Engine Company (ITEC) to produce the needed powerplant for the F-CK-1 design. Additionally, the radar system originally slated for the F-20 Tigershark system was made readily available for the F-CK-1 design and labeled as the "Golden Dragon 53".

The twin engine F-CK-1 (a designation rarely used for the Ching-Kuo system) debuted to a rocky start. Four initial prototype models were delivered with the first (A-1) incurring damage on a very public landing attempt. The second A-2 prototype was lost altogether in a Mach 1 speed trials test. Regardless, ten preproduction aircraft were later delivered though the cost of the entire program was ballooning out of control.

In all respect, the F-CK-1 Ching-Kuo resembles a mating of the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet series with the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon. The most identifiable feature of the Ching-Kuo remains the rounded air intake scoops located under fuselage on either side of the cockpit. The single-seat variant is labeled as the F-CK-1A whilst a two seat trainer version is also available as the F-CK-1B model. By all estimates, the series is a highly-capable multirole design.

As the arms embargo lifted, the ordered 250 or so Ching-Kuos were dramatically scaled back in favor of purchasing the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon A/B "Block B" models and the French-made Dassault Mirage 2000-5 series. Entering service in 1994, the system saw the last production F-CK-1 model delivered by 2000 though an improved version was already in the works.

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