In March 2021 AIDC announced that they had completed internal flight tests and that testing of the two prototypes and the two initial aircraft due to be delivered by the end of the year would be conducted by the Taiwanese Air Force from then on. In September 2019 A1 A2 T1 T2 the first of four prototypes was rolled out by Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen. In 2019 Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense testified to the country’s legislature that the maiden flight is scheduled for June 2020, small scale production is to start in November 2021, and mass production is scheduled to commence March 2023. In 2018, AIDC announced that the first prototype would be rolled out in September 2019 with flight tests to start in June 2020. In 2017, the United States approved the export of components for 132 Honeywell/ITEC F124 engines for the XAT/AT-5. On 24 September 2019, the president Tsai Ing-wen officially named the new aircraft "Brave Eagle" ( Yǒngyīng) during first prototype aircraft roll-out ceremony. Taiwanese citizens are invited to submit a name with a short proposal with the winner receiving a NTD 30,000 prize. However in 2018 the Ministry of National Defense announced a contest to pick an official name for the aircraft. Naming ĪIDC had used Blue Magpie, for the Taiwan blue magpie, as the project name. Four prototypes are to be produced and the total program cost is projected to be TWD68.6 billion (US$2.2 billion). In 2017 it was announced that the XAT-5 had won the tender with development and production to be undertaken by a partnership of AIDC and the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology with delivery scheduled to begin in 2026.
The MOD also evaluated the South Korean KAI T-50 Golden Eagle aircraft. The engines of all M-346 are assembled in Taiwan by International Turbine Engine Company (ITEC), a joint partnership of Honeywell and AIDC. In 2014 AIDC signed a memorandum of understanding with Alenia Aermacchi to assemble the M-346 in Taiwan.
Three designs were proposed, a modernized AT-3 branded as the AT-3 MAX, an evolution of the AIDC F-CK-1 Ching-Kuo called the XAT-5, or the Alenia Aermacchi M-346 Master.
The Advanced Jet Trainer Program (AJT) began in the early 2000s as the Republic of China Air Force sought a replacement for its fleet of AIDC AT-3 and Northrop F-5 advanced trainers with 66 newly built aircraft.
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen sits in a prototype at rollout Advanced Jet Trainer Program