Taiwan military training aircraft missing

Taiwan's air force says it has lost communication with one of its T-34 aircraft during training.

Taiwan's air force says it has lost communication with one of its T-34 aircraft during training. The air force says in a statement the aircraft with a crew of two took off around 1:05 p.m. (0505 GMT) Tuesday from a base in southern Taiwan and went off the radar about 35 minutes later. It says a search has been launched.

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Two fighter jets and several military helicopters from Taiwan's aging air force have crashed during the past two years. The island is seeking to purchase a more advanced model of the American-made F-16 fighter to help it deter any Chinese attack. The two sides split amid civil war in 1949. China still claims Taiwan as its territory.