Republic of China Air Force

The Republic of China Air Force (Chinese: 中華民國空軍; pinyin: Zhōnghuá Mínguó Kōngjūn), or the ROCAF; known colloquially as the Taiwanese Air Force (Chinese: 臺灣空軍; pinyin: Táiwān Kōngjūn) by Western or mainland Chinese media, or commonly referred as the National Military Air Force (Chinese: 國軍空軍; pinyin: Guójūn Kōngjūn) by local Taiwanese people, is the military aviation branch of the Republic of China (Taiwan) Armed Forces.

The history of the ROCAF traces back to 1920, when military aviation was first introduced by the Chinese Nationalist Party within its National Revolutionary Army. During the 2nd Sino-Japanese War, it was commonly known as the Chinese Nationalist Air Force. It later became a fully independent service branch from 17 August 1946 under the name Chinese Air Force.

The ROCAF's primary mission is the defense of the airspace over and around the Taiwan Area under the territorial jurisdiction of the government of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Priorities of the ROCAF include the development of long range reconnaissance and surveillance networks, integrating C4ISTAR systems to increase battle effectiveness, procuring counterstrike weapons, next generation fighters, and hardening airfields and other facilities to survive a surprise attack.