Black Trident: Taiwan tests electronic warfare pods for F-CK-1 fighter jet as China tensions rise
August 15, 2025
As tensions continue to rise across the Taiwan Strait, Taiwan is quietly pushing forward a major technological leap in its electronic warfare (EW) capabilities.
At the heart of this effort is the Xuanji Project, literally ‘Black Trident’, a domestically developed EW pod designed for the F-CK-1 Indigenous Defence Fighter (IDF), and recently seen undergoing flight tests aboard a C-130H Hercules transport aircraft, as reported by Formosa.
While unassuming in appearance, the pod represents Taiwan’s most ambitious effort yet to provide its homegrown fighter fleet with an advanced self-protection system, roughly comparable to the US-made AN/ALQ series carried by F-16s and C-130Js.
In a military environment increasingly shaped by electromagnetic dominance, the Xuanji pod could be a game-changer for the Republic of China Air Force (ROCAF).
A new chapter in Taiwan’s EW capabilities
Until now, Taiwan’s IDF fleet has relied primarily on radar warning receivers (RWRs) for situational awareness and limited threat detection. These provide alerts about hostile radar emissions but cannot actively jam or deceive enemy systems, a significant vulnerability in any modern air combat scenario.
Recognising this gap, Taiwan’s state-run National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST) has been tasked with the development of a full-spectrum EW pod since 2020, with a reported research budget of around NT$4 billion (approximately $133 million).
Named Xuanji, a reference to an ancient Chinese weapon, the project seeks to give Taiwan’s fighters a modern equivalent to Western electronic countermeasure (ECM) systems.
The pod is designed to provide radar signal detection, electronic jamming, and threat warning capabilities, enhancing survivability against surface-to-air missiles and air-to-air threats alike.
Manufacturer Northrop Grumman says the AN/ALQ-131 Electronic Countermeasures (ECM) pod is the most successful ECM system ever built.
The company has fielded more than 1,600 ALQ-131 pods, which use state-of-the-art technology to successfully protect aircrews and aircraft in every conflict since becoming operational.
To stay ahead of new and emerging threats with advanced capabilities, Northrop Grumman revolutionised the ALQ-131 through the insertion of digital technology. The architecture is a derivative of technologies from the most capable fighter aircraft, including F-16 Block 60 and F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. This upgrade does not change the pod’s size, weight or power requirements; neither does it require any mandatory aircraft modification.
Demonstrated benefits of the ALQ-131(V)
- Detects and identifies known, emerging and future threats in a dense, complex threat environment with accurate parametric measurements
- Defeats threat system by applying the optimal coherent and/or non-coherent jamming technique
- Increases Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF) by a factor of three
- BIT effectiveness greater than 95% with 90% confidence of isolating the fault
- New Growth Interfaces (Mil-STD-1553 and Ethernet) to facilitate communication with other on board systems.
- RF compatibility with modern AESA radars
- Significant improvement in MTTR
Taiwan’s electronic warfare tests on the C-130 Hercules
Recent photographs showing the EW pod mounted beneath the wings of a ROCAF C-130H Hercules caused speculation about its intended operational use. However, defence officials clarified that the C-130 was used as a testing platform, not an end-user.
The Hercules was chosen for its stable flight characteristics, spacious cabin, and onboard monitoring systems, including a dedicated operator station in the rear.
These allow NCSIST engineers to collect real-time telemetry and conduct software and hardware refinement mid-flight, essential steps in validating the pod’s performance across varying altitudes, speeds, and electromagnetic conditions.
Interestingly, Taiwan is not alone in using transport aircraft for EW testbeds. The Royal Netherlands Air Force, for example, has previously fitted C-130s with wingtip ECM pods.
Despite the pod’s promising capabilities, its physical size has raised eyebrows. Analysts and former military officials have noted that the pod appears rather bulky, prompting questions about whether it can be mounted on the IDF’s centreline pylon, the only position large enough to support such a system.
It is believed the pod is based on a modified 275-gallon fuel tank, which gives it a large profile but potentially solves the pylon compatibility issue. Previously, Taiwan explored integrating the ALQ-184(V)11, but the system was deemed too tall and heavy for the IDF, restricting take-off angles and posing operational risks.
Officials have acknowledged that the Xuanji pod’s form factor still needs optimisation, but insisted it is fundamentally compatible with the IDF. Test flights have already been conducted using at least one IDF aircraft (tail number 1429), confirming baseline integration.
Despite delays, the time for Taiwan’s EW evolution is now
Project Xuanji was originally expected to conclude in 2023, but its path has been anything but smooth. Like many Taiwanese defence initiatives, it has been hampered by US export restrictions on key electronic components, restrictions which delayed both development and production.
By late 2023, a prototype had been successfully developed, but full-scale manufacturing remained out of reach. Reports now suggest that a US-based defence contractor has joined the effort to co-develop the system, potentially speeding up progress and improving interoperability with Western platforms.
Still, Taiwan’s defence ministry has declined to comment on specifics, citing the classified nature of the programme. NCSIST has issued similar statements, only confirming that testing continues under its research remit.
The timing of this development is no coincidence. In recent years, China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has made massive investments in EW capability, deploying dedicated jamming aircraft, standoff jammers, and new pods on both manned and unmanned platforms. This evolution in Chinese doctrine underscores why Taiwan’s long-standing EW gap could no longer be ignored.
Currently, only Taiwan’s F-16 fleet is equipped with dedicated EW pods, and even then, procurement has faced repeated delays. Both the Phoenix Rising (upgrade of legacy F-16s) and Phoenix Soar (procurement of 66 new F-16Vs) programmes have struggled to deliver next-generation pods, despite repeated efforts to acquire systems such as L3Harris’s AN/ALQ-254(V)1 ‘Viper Shield‘ and Northrop Grumman’s ALQ-131C.
As a result, Taiwan has doubled down on homegrown solutions, Project Xuanji being the centrepiece.
Modernising Taiwan’s F-CK-1 Indigenous Defence Fighter
The Xuanji pod is part of a broader upgrade programme that has transformed the IDF into the F-CK-1C/D standard, with all 129 aircraft receiving improvements. The revamped jets now feature advanced cockpits with colour multifunction displays, a more reliable radar with new modes, and compatibility with the Wan Chien air-to-surface cruise missile, capable of striking targets over 125 miles away with submunitions.
In June 2025, the IDF was also spotted testing the air-launched variant of the Hsiung Feng III supersonic anti-ship missile, under the “Xiongzhi Project.” The missile was painted in a striking silver-and-tricolour livery for separation testing, with an aircraft equipped with high-speed cameras and GPS pods to gather data on release dynamics and flight characteristics.
When operational, this combination of long-range strike and advanced EW will provide a far more credible deterrent against Chinese incursions.
For now, the Xuanji pod remains a pre-production prototype, but its repeated appearances suggest momentum is building. Real-world trials are ongoing, and officials expect that once the final integration and fine-tuning are complete, pending US coordination, the pod could enter operational service on frontline IDFs.
