A draft bill that would pave the way for NT$250 billion (US$8.05 billion) in funding for Taiwan to buy 66 F-16Vs from the US yesterday passed a preliminary review by the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee.
The bill, which was approved by the Cabinet and signed off by Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) on Sept. 5, would allow the government to create a special budget of up to NT$250 billion to procure a new fleet of more advanced F-16 jets to reinforce and modernize the military fighter fleet.
The bill will now be sent to a cross-caucus negotiation.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
The US Department of State approved the sale of 66 F-16Vs on Aug. 20.
The government and Washington still have to sign a letter of offer and acceptance to finalize the sale, which is expected to happen by the end of this year, the air force has said.
Taiwan hopes to take delivery of all 66 jets, in split shipments, by no later than 2026.
The F-16Vs are expected to be deployed at Chihhang Air Base in Taitung County, military sources said.
The air force in 2016 announced a NT$110 billion program to upgrade its fleet of 142 F-16A/Bs to the F-16V specifications, with the work expected to be completed by 2022.
The first four of the planes, retrofitted by state-owned Aerospace Industrial Development Corp (漢翔航空), have completed combat flight testing.
At yesterday’s committee meeting, lawmakers questioned Minister of National Defense Yen De-fa (嚴德發) and air force leaders about the government’s ambition of buying the more advanced Lockheed Martin F-35s from the US.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Man-li (陳曼麗) said she understood that delivery of the F-16Vs was expected to begin in 2023 and that the new planes would increase the air force’s fighting capabilities over the short term.
“Do we still have plans to buy F-35s?” Chen asked.
“According to the military’s projected threat assessment, we will need F-35s in the future,” Yen replied.
Independent Legislator Freddy Lim (林昶佐) then asked how soon the nation could expect to obtain F-35s and how the F-16V and the Chengdu J-20, believed to be the most advanced fighter of China’s People’s Liberation Army Air Force, compared.
Yen said the F-16V and the J-20 are about equal, as the J-20’s smaller radar cross-section is matched by the F-16V’s advanced radar system.
DPP Legislator Shih Yi-fang (施義芳) said the characteristics of fifth-generation fighters include vertical take-off and landing and low observability, a class to which Lockheed Martin’s F-22 and F-35, and the Chengdu J-20 belonged.
“Does buying the F-16V mean we are falling behind the curve?” he asked.
Air Force Chief of Staff Liu Jen-yuan (劉任遠) said the F-16V is a 4.5-generation fighter, due to the detection capabilities of its active electronically scanned array radar and infrared search and track systems.
“The J-20’s only advantage is marginally better stealth ability, and modern air combat is fought between integrated systems, not individual platforms,” Liu said.
Shih asked officials to explain if the F-16V could prevail against a J-20 in an one-on-one engagement.
“I have absolute confidence in the skills of our pilots to shoot down a J-20 one-on-one,” Yen said.
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck off Yilan at 11:05pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter was located at sea, about 32.3km east of Yilan County Hall, at a depth of 72.8km, CWA data showed There were no immediate reports of damage. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Yilan County area on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. It measured 4 in other parts of eastern, northern and central Taiwan as well as Tainan, and 3 in Kaohsiung and Pingtung County, and 2 in Lienchiang and Penghu counties and 1
FOREIGN INTERFERENCE: Beijing would likely intensify public opinion warfare in next year’s local elections to prevent Lai from getting re-elected, the ‘Yomiuri Shimbun’ said Internal documents from a Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) company indicated that China has been using the technology to intervene in foreign elections, including propaganda targeting Taiwan’s local elections next year and presidential elections in 2028, a Japanese newspaper reported yesterday. The Institute of National Security of Vanderbilt University obtained nearly 400 pages of documents from GoLaxy, a company with ties to the Chinese government, and found evidence that it had apparently deployed sophisticated, AI-driven propaganda campaigns in Hong Kong and Taiwan to shape public opinion, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported. GoLaxy provides insights, situation analysis and public opinion-shaping technology by conducting network surveillance
Taiwan is gearing up to celebrate the New Year at events across the country, headlined by the annual countdown and Taipei 101 fireworks display at midnight. Many of the events are to be livesteamed online. See below for lineups and links: Taipei Taipei’s New Year’s Party 2026 is to begin at 7pm and run until 1am, with the theme “Sailing to the Future.” South Korean girl group KARA is headlining the concert at Taipei City Hall Plaza, with additional performances by Amber An (安心亞), Nick Chou (周湯豪), hip-hop trio Nine One One (玖壹壹), Bii (畢書盡), girl group Genblue (幻藍小熊) and more. The festivities are to
AFTERMATH: The Taipei City Government said it received 39 minor incident reports including gas leaks, water leaks and outages, and a damaged traffic signal A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck off Taiwan’s northeastern coast late on Saturday, producing only two major aftershocks as of yesterday noon, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The limited aftershocks contrast with last year’s major earthquake in Hualien County, as Saturday’s earthquake occurred at a greater depth in a subduction zone. Saturday’s earthquake struck at 11:05pm, with its hypocenter about 32.3km east of Yilan County Hall, at a depth of 72.8km. Shaking was felt in 17 administrative regions north of Tainan and in eastern Taiwan, reaching intensity level 4 on Taiwan’s seven-tier seismic scale, the CWA said. In Hualien, the
RSS