Missile Tien Chien I

The Tien Chien I (Sky Sword I, TC-1) is a short-range infrared-guided air-to-air missile, developed in the mid-1980s and publicly unveiled in May 1986 as the first air-to-air missile of Taiwanese design. Production began in 1991 and the air-to-air version entered service with the Republic of China Air Force in 1993.

Capabilities: the missile combines an imaging infrared seeker, a high-explosive warhead, a solid-propellant rocket motor and a guidance and control unit. The seeker operates in two infrared spectral bands and offers initial slave-by-radar designation from the aircraft's radar, the missile then being autonomous after launch. Its overall configuration is close to that of the American AIM-9, also in service in Taiwan, and it fills on the Indigenous Defense Fighter a role equivalent to that of the AIM-9 on the F-16. A variant fitted with a larger-diameter motor was displayed in 2017.

Variants: the TC-1L is a surface-to-air version employed by the Antelope air defence system. The Sea TC-1, intended for the Sea Oryx naval system, receives an improved seeker, a data link and a new rocket motor.

Service: the TC-1 is operated by the armed forces of the Republic of China (Taiwan), the only known user. Firings were carried out during a training exercise off Taiwan's east coast in 2019.