Taiwan has formally retired its last Northrop F-5 fighters following over 50 years of service with the nation’s air force.
The milestone was marked at a ceremony at Taiwan’s Hualien air base with a final sortie of five aircraft: three RF-5E reconnaissance jets and a pair of twin-seat F-5F fighters.
The country’s single-seat F-5Es had already been retired in 2023.
The Republic of China Air Force first started operating the F-5 in 1965.
Media reports from Taiwan indicate that 308 examples were manufactured locally, comprising 242 F-5Es and 66 F-5Fs.
In the last two decades the type has largely been relegated to training work and is being replaced by the locally produced AIDC T-5 advanced jet trainer.
Whereas the baseline F-5 has a pair of 20mm cannons in the nose, the RF-5E sees one cannon replaced with camera equipment.
