The Taiwan Air Force is currently grounding all Mirage 2000 fighter jets after one of those planes crashed earlier today. It is the second Taiwanese fighter jet to crash in three months.

The French-made plane crashed during a training session last night, according to the island’s air force. The pilot reported technical difficulties but was unable to return to the Chihang military base. The pilot survived the accident. He managed to get out of the fighter plane with his ejected seat and was rescued by a helicopter.

An Air Force spokesperson said all aircraft would remain on the ground during the investigation. Taiwan has operated Mirage 2000 aircraft since 1997. Six of the sixty aircraft delivered crashed.

The F-16 also crashed

Taiwan has recently had to deal with more combat aircraft failures. In January, a pilot was killed in the crash of an F-16 fighter jet. The Taiwanese have 140 F-16s in service and have ordered over 60 more. At the end of 2020, another aircraft disappeared from radar.

The Taiwan Air Force is known for its good training. However, the country faces intimidation from China, which views democratic Taiwan as a breakaway province. China is also trying to disrupt military supplies to Taiwan.

Chinese combat aircraft regularly enter or approach Taiwan’s “air defense space”. It happened two weeks ago Still and today Chinese planes flew in this area. Some experts believe that China is doing this to weaken Taiwan’s air power.

Previously, NOS clarified the situation around Taiwan in 3: