Taiwan Grounds Entire F-5E Fighter Fleet After Fatal Crash: Do the Venerable Tiger Jets Have a Future in Active Service?

A Taiwanese F-5E Tiger II fighter jet has crashed off the coast on a routine training mission after taking off from the Chihang Airbase in Taitung in the early morning, after the pilot reported a mechanical issue. The airman was subsequently pronounced dead after being recovered by helicopter. Air Force Chief of Staff Huang Chih-wei stated that he had ordered the grounding of all F-5E jets in the country, and elaborated regarding the incident: “We sent a helicopter to look for him at 7:32am … and when the rescuers found him and carried him to the helicopter, he had already lost consciousness… We are still investigating the exact cause of the crash.” When asked why the pilot had not survived, despite his successful ejection, the minister said there were a number of likely factors including the fighter’s altitude, speed and the tension of the parachute. Several hundred F-5E fighters were built in Taiwan under license in the 1970s, beginning in 1973, although only around 60 remain in service today. Taiwanese F-5 pilots are some of the few in the world to have seen combat, deploying to support North Yemen during the Cold War against the Soviet-aligned state of South Yemen.

The F-5E is a lightweight third generation fighter which has served in Taiwan’s Air Force for over 40 years, and until the purchase of F-16A and Mirage 2000 jets in the 1990s and the development of the indigenous Ching Kuo, all three of which are fourth generation light fighters, the F-5 was considered the most capable combat jet in the Taiwanese fleet. The aircraft were expected to outlast the Mirage 2000 in service, due serious issues with the French made jet’s manufacturing quality and its declining combat capabilities and soaring operational costs, although this could change should the crash rate accelerate the F-5 fleet’s retirement. Taiwanese F-5s are considered the most capable variants of the jets in the world, and have been heavily enhanced domestically including the integration of the Sky Sword II active radar guided missile - which has a 100km range and hypersonic speeds. The aircraft are expected to be replaced in the coming years by the indigenous Brave Eagle lightweight fighter, which saw its first flight in June 2020.