IDF經國號戰機為我國自主研發生產的戰機，除配置M61A2火神機砲，亦可依任務搭載天劍一型、天劍二型、AIM-9響尾蛇等空對空飛彈，以及MK20石眼式集束炸彈、MK-82SE蛇眼延遲引信炸彈等對地武器，可滿足我國戰備任務需求。

Reported by Hsin-yao Huang

Translated by Warren King

 In the early 1980s, Taiwan initiated the Indigenous Defense Fighter (IDF) development project to sustain air superiority over the Taiwan Strait as the potential threat from the other side of the Strait had been escalating. The project was forwarded to and developed by the Aeronautical Industry Development Center of the R.O.C. Air Force (ROCAF), which was partially transferred to the Aeronautical Systems Research Division under the Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST) in 1983, and reorganized into Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation as a state enterprise in 1996.

 The first IDF prototype was rolled out in December 1988, and accomplished its first flight in 1999. It was named as the F-CK-1A/B, where the abbreviation CK represented the initial letter of “Ching-Kuo” based on the Wade-Giles Romanization system, in honor of the late R.O.C. President Chiang Ching-kuo, who had advocated to push the project forward.

 The Ching-kuo Fighter became operational in 1992. The ROCAF launched Hsiang Sheng project in 2001 to upgrade avionics and weapons capability. In late March 2007, F-CK-1C/D was opened to the public and named Hsiung Ying (Brave Hawk) to signify that the new fighter would protect the homeland just like the Crested Goshawk.

 Along with M61A2 Vulcan rotary cannon installed on the starboard side of the fuselage, the Ching-kuo Fighter, with the given mission, can be equipped with air-to-air missiles such as Tien Chien Ⅰ (TC-1), Tien Chien Ⅱ (TC-2), and AIM-9 Sidewinder, as well as air-to-ground weaponry, including MK20 cluster bomb, MK-82SE bomb fitted with a special high-drag tail fin unit, etc., to meet the combat-ready requirements of the R.O.C. Armed Forces.

 To shorten the time for air defense warning, a fleet of squadron-sized IDF fighters are deployed at Magong Air Force Base, Penghu County, as a permanent move, with an aim to conduct "Heavenly Colt" operation, making it the first to scramble in response to an immediate threat. In recent years, the provocative act by the P.R.C. aircraft and vessels has been becoming much more frequently. The IDF fighters are required to scramble immediately to repel the threats with non-lethal means like broadcasting radio warnings in the first place. All the deployed measures highlight the IDF’s capacities and its significant role in safeguarding the territorial airspace of the Republic of China.