Taiwan’s air force had all Brave Eagle advanced training aircraft on the ground following the February 15 crash of one due to a ‘dual engine failure’. The aircraft crashed shortly after taking off from Chih Hang Air Base in southern Taitung County. The pilot, Major Lin, ejected safely and was discovered in ‘good health’ with no injuries.
A special task force has been constituted to determine the reason behind the crash. Grounding all Brave Eagle aircraft is a safety precaution for inspection. Taiwan’s air force has only just recovered from recent accidents, including grounding Mirage 2000 fighter jets following a sea crash last September 2024.
The timing of this kind of crash is crucial, as Taiwan itself has been under growing Chinese military pressure, which has served to make it more common with which it encircles the island.China has persisted in sending warships, balloons, and planes into the Taiwan air defense identification zone and has refused to back down.Taiwan has been undergoing these tests through these incursions with the monthly logs reporting a staggering 255 incursions within just January alone.
China’s intrusiveness doesn’t end at incursion through the air. China also had high-altitude balloons hovering close to Taiwan, with one flying directly over Taiwan’s main island. The Taiwanese defense ministry reported that the number of incursions had increased, including six balloons on one day last month.
Taiwan has been modernizing its military to keep pace with China’s increasing threats, and the Brave Eagle is an important plane in pilot training. It has tried to modernize but still lags behind, most prominently with the old fighter jet fleet. The government of Taiwan is now advocating for unfreezing parts of the defense budget, and President Lai Ching-te has urged backing for the armed forces due to the rising foreign threat.
The reliance of Taiwan on indigenous production and foreign arms sales, mainly from the US, continues to be the main element of its defense strategy.
