TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The delivery of 66 F-16V Block 70 fighter jets might not be completed by the end of 2026 as originally envisaged, Defense Minister Wellington Koo (顧立雄) said Tuesday.
The first of the new planes rolled off the assembly line at a Lockheed Martin plant in South Carolina in March. Taiwan procured the jets for approximately NT$245.38 billion (US$8 billion), while an earlier upgrade of 140 F-16A/B to F-16V Block 20 level was completed in 2023.
Because the delivery program has encountered delays, not all of the aircraft may arrive in Taiwan next year, Koo told reporters. He added that Taiwan and the US hold regular meetings about delays in arms deliveries, including the F-16s, the Liberty Times reported.
Completing deliveries by the end of 2026 will be challenging, Koo acknowledged, though he said the situation has improved. There will be deliveries next year, but it is too early to predict whether all 66 jets will be built, completed, and delivered to Taiwan’s Air Force within that timeframe, he said.
The plan is to deploy the new jets at Zhihang Air Base in Taitung. The Air Force also plans to spend an additional NT$4 billion on extending the pilot training program at Morris Air National Guard Base in Arizona.
