The Republic of China Air Force (ROCAF, Taiwan's air force) received its first batch of seven F-5As and two F-5Bs under the U.S. Military Assistance Program in 1965.
By 1971, the ROCAF was operating 72 F-5As and 11 F-5Bs.
During 1972, the U.S. borrowed 48 ROCAF F-5As to lend to the Republic of Vietnam Air Force before the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Vietnam.
By 1973, most of those loaned F-5As were not in flying condition, thus the U.S. opted to return 20 F-5As to Taiwan by drawing nine F-5As from U.S. reserves while repairing 11 from South Vietnam.
An additional 28 new F-5Es were issued to Taiwan by May 1975.
By 1973, Taiwan's AIDC started local production of a first batch of 100 F-5Es, the first of six Peace Tiger production batches.
By end of 1986 when the production line closed after completing Peace Tiger 6, the AIDC had produced 242 F-5Es and 66 F-5Fs.
Taiwan was the largest operator of the type at one time, having 336 F-5E/Fs in inventory.
The last batch of AIDC F-5E/Fs featured the F-20's shark nose.

With the introduction of 150 F-16s, 60 Mirage 2000-5s and 130 F-CK-1s in the mid-to-late-1990s, the F-5E/F series became second line fighters in ROCAF service and mostly are now withdrawn from service as squadrons converted to new fighters entering ROCAF service.
Seven low airframe hours F-5Es were sent to ST Aerospace to convert them to RF-5E standard to fulfill a reconnaissance role previously undertaken by the retiring Lockheed RF-104G in ROCAF service.
As of 2009, only about 40 ROCAF F-5E/Fs still remain in service in training roles with about 90–100 F-5E/Fs held in reserve.
The other retired F-5E/F are either scrapped, or used as decoys painted in colors representing the main front line F-16, Mirage 2000-5 or F-CK-1 fighters, and deployed around major air bases.

Taiwan also tried to upgrade the F-5E/F fleet with AIDC's Tiger 2000/2001 program.
The first flight took place on 24 July 2002.
The program would replace the F-5E/F's radar with F-CK-1's GD-53 radar and allow the fighter to carry a single TC-2 BVRAAM on the centerline.
But lack of interest from the ROCAF eventually killed the program.
The only prototype is on display in AIDC in Central Taiwan.

The only air combat actions ROCAF F-5E/F pilots saw, were not over Taiwan, but in North Yemen.
In 1979, a flareup between North Yemen and South Yemen prompted the U.S. to sell 14 F-5E/Fs to North Yemen to boost its air defense.
Since no pilot in North Yemen knew how to fly the F-5E/F (only MiG-15s were operational at the time), U.S. and Saudi Arabia arranged to have 80+ ROCAF F-5E pilots, ground crew, and anti-air defense units sent to North Yemen as part of North Yemen Air Force's 115th Squadron at Sana'a operating initially six F-5E/Fs.
An additional eight aircraft were operated from April 1979 to May 1990.
The ROCAF piloted F-5E/F scored a few kills in a few air battles, but the ground early warning radar crews and anti-air units also suffered from air attacks from South Yemen, whose aircraft were piloted by Soviet crews.
This operation is known as the Peace Bell Program in Saudi Arabia, and 大漠計畫 (literally the Great Desert Program) in Taiwan.
The Republic of China Air Force (ROCAF, Taiwan's air force) received its first batch of seven F-5As and two F-5Bs under the U.S. Military Assistance Program in 1965. By 1971, the ROCAF was operating 72 F-5As and 11 F-5Bs. During 1972, the U.S. borrowed 48 ROCAF F-5As to lend to the Republic of Vietnam Air Force before the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Vietnam. By 1973, most of those loaned F-5As were not in flying condition, thus the U.S. opted to return 20 F-5As to Taiwan by drawing nine F-5As from U.S. reserves while repairing 11 from South Vietnam. An additional 28 new F-5Es were issued to Taiwan by May 1975. By 1973, Taiwan's AIDC started local production of a first batch of 100 F-5Es, the first of six Peace Tiger production batches. By end of 1986 when the production line closed after completing Peace Tiger 6, the AIDC had produced 242 F-5Es and 66 F-5Fs. Taiwan was the largest operator of the type at one time, having 336 F-5E/Fs in inventory. The last batch of AIDC F-5E/Fs featured the F-20's shark nose.
With the introduction of 150 F-16s, 60 Mirage 2000-5s and 130 F-CK-1s in the mid-to-late-1990s, the F-5E/F series became second line fighters in ROCAF service and mostly are now withdrawn from service as squadrons converted to new fighters entering ROCAF service. Seven low airframe hours F-5Es were sent to ST Aerospace to convert them to RF-5E standard to fulfill a reconnaissance role previously undertaken by the retiring Lockheed RF-104G in ROCAF service. As of 2009, only about 40 ROCAF F-5E/Fs still remain in service in training roles with about 90–100 F-5E/Fs held in reserve. The other retired F-5E/F are either scrapped, or used as decoys painted in colors representing the main front line F-16, Mirage 2000-5 or F-CK-1 fighters, and deployed around major air bases.
Taiwan also tried to upgrade the F-5E/F fleet with AIDC's Tiger 2000/2001 program. The first flight took place on 24 July 2002. The program would replace the F-5E/F's radar with F-CK-1's GD-53 radar and allow the fighter to carry a single TC-2 BVRAAM on the centerline. But lack of interest from the ROCAF eventually killed the program. The only prototype is on display in AIDC in Central Taiwan.
The only air combat actions ROCAF F-5E/F pilots saw, were not over Taiwan, but in North Yemen. In 1979, a flareup between North Yemen and South Yemen prompted the U.S. to sell 14 F-5E/Fs to North Yemen to boost its air defense. Since no pilot in North Yemen knew how to fly the F-5E/F (only MiG-15s were operational at the time), U.S. and Saudi Arabia arranged to have 80+ ROCAF F-5E pilots, ground crew, and anti-air defense units sent to North Yemen as part of North Yemen Air Force's 115th Squadron at Sana'a operating initially six F-5E/Fs. An additional eight aircraft were operated from April 1979 to May 1990. The ROCAF piloted F-5E/F scored a few kills in a few air battles, but the ground early warning radar crews and anti-air units also suffered from air attacks from South Yemen, whose aircraft were piloted by Soviet crews. This operation is known as the Peace Bell Program in Saudi Arabia, and 大漠計畫 (literally the Great Desert Program) in Taiwan.
Northrop F-5