Naturally, the prospect of SU-27s just across the Straits of Formosa is giving the Taiwanese fits. They have made repeated attempts over the last decade to obtain modem fighters, the F16 and F-20 from the US, and the Mirage 2000 from France, but all to no avail, thanks to Chinese "diplomacy". The "ChingKuo" Indigenous Defense Fighter project will eventually provide a home grown (with a little help from General Dynamics) aeroplane to meet Taiwan's needs, but the recent crash of a prototype (the port tailplane fell off due to transonic buffeting) may delay the program. Meantime, the RoCAF's F-5Es are to be reinforced by 40 ex- Israeli Kfir C7s, if the US gives its approval (necessary for export of the Kfir's GE J79 engine). The 34 single- and 6 two-seaters are to be fitted with improved avionics, specifically a HOTAS-configured cockpit (that's Hands On Throttle And Stick) and an upgraded nav- attack system (in game terms, probably Computed-2 as per the data card, but possibly Advanced-3). The British Ministry of Defense has announced that RAF Tornado F.3s are NOT to be armed with the AIIM-120 AMRAAM missile. The F.3's future is under review at present. It was originally adapted from the IDS (GR. 1, etc.) version as an interceptor to take on Soviet bombers over the North Sea, and optimization for this role may have produced an aircraft with insufficient flexibility for operations in the post-Cold War world. It is not considered cost effective to go ahead with plans to replace the current Sky Flash RHM with AMRAAM. The UK will still buy AIM-120s to equip EFA and Sea Harrier FRS.2. The ASRAAM saga continues. British MoD officials claim that delays and technical problems with AIM- 132 development have given the USSR a " 10-year edge" in fielding an advanced IRM (the AA-11 Archer). Another blow to the project came when it was announced that the winning ATF design, Lockheed's F-22 Lightning II, would not be equipped with ASRAAM. In an apparent design foul up, presumably on the part of Lockheed or their partners, the missile would require extensive modification to be compatible with the aircraft's internal weapons bays. The US is expected to pursue further development of the ubiquitous Sidewinder under a generic program entitled "AIM-9X". Even the British are half-hearted in their support for the missile. The Air Staff Requirement which ASRAAM was expected to fulfill has been opened to competition and the French (amongst others) are actively promoting a version of Matra's MICA (known, somewhat derivatively, as MICASRAAM). Back to Table of Contents -- Air Power # 15 Back to Air Power List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 1991 by J.D. Webster This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com