The air force sent eight F-16 pilots to the US earlier this year to test fire the AIM-120 air-to-air missiles that Taiwan has ordered but has yet to take delivery of, according to a defense source.
The test firing of the medium-range missiles took place before June at an air base in Arizona, where combat pilots from Taiwan receive F-16 flight training, the defense source said.
It was the first test firing of AIM-120 missiles by Taiwan's air force in the US. Last year, the air force had sent pilots to test fire AIM-120s in the US-held territory of Guam.
The eight F-16 pilots sent to the US this year to test fire the missiles were selected from squadrons in Chiayi and Hualien. Most of them are senior F-16 pilots who are responsible for training their younger counterparts.
The air force is scheduled to test fire AIM-120 missiles again next year. The practice will continue each year until Taiwan takes delivery of the AIM-120s.
Taiwan has ordered a total of 200 of the missiles and 292 launchers for use on F-16 fighter planes at a cost of US$150 million.
The AIM-120, also known as the advanced medium-range air-to-air missile, is among the best of its kind in the world. Taiwan had asked the US to sell the AIM-120 missiles for many years but the US did not agree to do so until last year.
The agreement was initially given under one condition: that Taiwan not take delivery of the AIM-120s before China acquires an equivalent weapon from Russia -- the R-77 medium-range air-to-air missile, air force officials said.
The restriction could soon be lifted since it has been widely reported that China acquired the Russian-made R-77 missiles this year.
But regardless of whether such reports are true, the US is not yet prepared to deliver AIM-120s to Taiwan on the grounds that Taiwan lacks proper facilities to store the state-of-the-art missiles, an air force official said.
"The US military sent a team to Taiwan earlier this year to find out whether Taiwan is capable of properly storing the AIM-120s. They went to F-16 bases in Chiayi and Hualien only to find that the missile-storage facilities at the two bases did not meet their requirements," the air force official said.
"The 200 AIM-120 missiles we have ordered from the US are now stored at a US military base in Okinawa. They could be delivered to Taiwan in short order if Taiwan has an urgent need for them," he said.
"It's a pity that the missiles cannot be at our disposal. But we are short of funds to improve our missile-storage facilities to the standards required for the AIM-120s," he said.
To compensate for Taiwan not yet having missiles, the US has provided a number of AIM-120 simulators to the air force for regular training on their use. The missile simulators can help F-16 pilots get the feel for the real missiles as they are carried on board.
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