AIDC AT-3 Tzu Chung

Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation · Taiwan · first flew 1980 · fighter

The AIDC AT-3 Tzu Chung is a Taiwanese twin-turbofan jet trainer and light attack aircraft, broadly comparable in role and layout to the Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet.

Recognition (WEFT)

W — Wings	Low-mounted, swept
E — Engines	2 × turbofan, fuselage-mounted
F — Fuselage	twin turbofans buried in the fuselage sides, no wing nacelles
T — Tail	Conventional

WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.

Spot it by:

twin turbofans buried in the fuselage sides, no wing nacelles
tandem two-seat canopy with stepped cockpits
low-set slab tailplane on the rear fuselage, not a T-tail

Twin turbofans buried in the fuselage rather than on pylons, a tandem two-seat canopy, and a low-set slab tailplane distinguish it from single-engine trainers like the BAE Hawk.

Specifications

The AIDC AT-3 Tzu Chung has a length of 12.9 m (42 ft).
It has a wingspan of 10.46 m (34 ft).
Its maximum speed is 904 km/h (562 mph).
Typical crew: 2 (tandem instructor/student).

Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.

History

Developed by Taiwan's Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation to replace older trainers in Republic of China Air Force service, it first flew in 1980 and entered service through that decade alongside development of the related indigenous IDF fighter.

Variants

The AT-3B was a two-seat ground-attack upgrade with radar and a head-up display; the single-seat derivative was the XA-3 Lei Ming, of which only two prototypes were built.

Where you'll see it

Still operated by Taiwan's air force as an advanced/lead-in fighter trainer and by the Thunder Tigers aerobatic display team; it is not used outside Taiwan.

Related aircraft

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