TAIPEI, Dec 12 (AFP) - Taiwan plans to build a new version of its Indigenous Defense Fighter (IDF) jet as part of its budding arms race with China, it was reported Sunday.
Taiwan's Cabinet is "resolved to implement the IDF variant development program beginning in 2001," said the Central Daily News, affiliated with the ruling Kuomintang party. However, the defense ministry would not comment on the specifics of the weapons program.
The newspaper said the new IDF would have more powerful engines and include updated fire control and radar systems. The fighter would also be equipped with stealth technology materials to make it less visible to radar, it said.
With US assistance, the Taiwanese military began the IDF program in 1983 after pressure from Beijing made it difficult for Taipei to buy advanced combat aircraft from other countries.
The air force had reduced its order for 250 IDFs to 130 after it signed contracts with the United States and France to purchase 150 F-16s and 60 Mirage 2000-5s. All the IDFs have joined the Taiwanese air force.
Meanwhile, a tiny unmanned aviation vehicle developed by the military-run Chung-shan Institution for Science and Technology has been put on display for the first time at Taipei's annual computer show, the paper said. The reconnaissance aircraft, which has a range of up to 500 kilometers (310 miles) during a 10-hour flight, can be used to collect and transmit battlefield information.
Taiwan and China, split in 1949 at the end of a civil war, are still technically at war despite the commencement of civil contacts in the late 1980s. The fighter plane is the most recent addition to the Taiwanese arms race with China. Taiwan has a population of 22 million, compared to China's 1.3 billion.
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