Air force to finish overhaul of ejection seats in all F-5s by the end of the yearStaff writer, with CNAThe air force is to finish installing new ejection seats on all of its F-5 jets by the end of this year, a military source said on Saturday. The Ministry of National Defense last year budgeted NT$746.5 million (US$24.31 million) to install 70 Mk16 ejection seats manufactured by Martin-Baker Aircraft Co on the nation’s fleet of 70 F-5s. On Oct. 30, 2020, air force Captain Chu Kuan-meng (朱冠甍), 29, ejected from an F-5E during a drill after the jet’s engine malfunctioned. The ministry later confirmed that mechanical defects were found in Chu’s and Luo’s ejection seats. The decades-old F-5s are mostly used for training purposes, although they could be called into action during wartime, another unnamed air force source said.

Source: Taipei Times December 18, 2022 16:54 UTC