IDF Ching-Kuo

     Notes: Named after a former Taiwanese president, the IDF (Indigenous Defense Fighter) was first designed when the US attempted to placate China in the late 1970s by cutting off some arms shipments to Taiwan, including the F-16.  The Ching-Kuo looks like a composite of several of its contemporaries; the nose and much of the avionics are based on those of the F-20 Tigershark, the wings and tail surfaces are based on those of the F-16, the engines and intakes are based on those of the F/A-18, and the fuselage is partly based on the F-16 and F/A-18.  Avionics are advanced, with both air-to-air and air-to surface modes.  The primary weakness of the Ching-Kuo is its engines, which, though large in size, are somewhat underpowered, and performance is below what a fighter of its class should be.  The two wingtip hardpoints may only be used for heat-seeking air-to-air missiles or Sidearm antiradar missiles.

     Twilight 2000 Notes: After the Taiwan Relations Act was enacted and arms shipments to Taiwan resumed, work on the Chin-Kuo slowed, but continued, and with the storm clouds of war brewing in the early 1990s, and the knowledge that the US would soon be engaged elsewhere, the Ching-Kuo project was stepped up and within a few months production versions were being rapidly turned out.