Deprived of New Weapons Tech, Taiwan is Reverse-Engineering Jet Engines To Make a Cruise Missile
From Popular Mechanics Taiwan thinks it needs new long-range weapons to keep China at bay, and now it has an innovative (if weird) solution. The nation is reportedly pulling engines out of old fighter jets to figure out how to make one for a cruise missile. The J85 turbojet engines in question come from Northrop F-5E/F jets, called the "Tiger II." Produced in the 1970s, the Tiger II was a low-cost multi-role jet in the same vein as today’s F-16. The F-5E/F had one engine, a General Electric J85-GE-21 , a design that is still around: A variant of the J-85 powers the U.S. Air Force’s T-38 trainer, and another version will power Boom’s upcoming 50-passenger supersonic jet. Photo credit: MANDY CHENG - Getty Images More Over the years, Taiwan bought or produced 308 Tiger IIs, including 242 single seat -E versions and 66 two seat -F versions. Now a report in the Taiwanese press states that Taiwan’s Chinese Academy of Sciences, in conjunction with th...