Taiwan intends to develop a new generation of indigenous combat aircraft as a result of US reluctance to approve the sale of Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Fighting Falcon or F-35 Lightning Ⅱ fighters. The new aircraft will have low-observable features, have an air refuelling capability and the ability to use air-to-air and air-to-surface missiles. Details of the plan were released in Taiwan's 2013 quadrennial defence review, published on March 13. Although developing its own combat aircraft would be more expensive than purchasing examples from the US, it is something Taiwan has done before. After the US refused to supply new fighters in the 1980s, the country's Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation designed and produced the F-CK-1 Ching-Kuo.
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