First F-16 Block 70 fighters land in Taiwan
Landing of two jets marks first time new fighters have arrived in Taiwan since 1997.
The first pair of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 fighters for Taiwan have arrived in the country, following a transit from the USA.
According to Taiwan’s official Focus Taiwan – CNA news outlet, the jets touched down at Chihhang air base around noon local time.
The two fighters are part of a 66 aircraft order finalized in December 2019. Taipei had long required new fighters, but Washington’s fears about angering the Chinese government, which claims Taiwan as its own sovereign territory, long delayed American approval.
Deliveries had been expected around 2023, but production challenges at Lockheed’s new Greenville plant delayed deliveries to Taiwan and other nations who have ordered the latest version of the F-16.
Reports that the long-awaited delivery of the new jets was imminent first emerged in late August, following the departure of the two aircraft, bearing the registrations 6727 and 6728, from Greenville in August.
The arrival of the aircraft marks the first time new fighters have arrived in Taiwan in 29 years. The last time new fighters arrived in the country was in 1997, when the first pair of F-16s arrived from an 150 aircraft order placed in 1992.
Taipei’s F-16 Block 70 acquisition comes after Taiwan’s Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation completed an upgrade programme for 139 Republic of China Air Force F-16s in 2023, taking the jets to the F-16V configuration.
The F-16V is the designation for older jets that have been modernised to effectively match the capabilities of new-build Block 70/72 aircraft.
Upgrades include the Northrop Grumman APG-83 active electronically scanned array radar, a more powerful mission computer, modern cockpit displays and avionics, and the option for electronic countermeasure survivability systems.
The post First F-16 Block 70 fighters land in Taiwan first appeared on FlightGlobal.
Source: www.flightglobal.com — article syndicated from the publisher’s feed; all rights remain with the original publisher.