A claim that fighter jets ordered this year would be delivered by the end of next year is ludicrous and goes against standard procedure, a military expert said yesterday.
It would take months to finalize letters of offer and acceptance, which are required for the government to sign a contract with a production company, Taiwan Security Analysis Center director Mei Fu-hsing (梅復興) said on Facebook.
Even if the case were expedited, it would still take at least 10 months for the letter of acceptance to be finalized, Mei said.
Photo courtesy of Chiang Kuan-lun
In 2011, Taiwan was unable to sign a contract with Lockheed-Martin immediately after a letter of acceptance was finalized and finally signed a contract in 2013, Mei said.
Judging from past orders, the company usually produces the first batch of new plane orders 36 months after a contract is signed, Mei said.
Even if the clock starts after the US Congress is notified of the deal, it would still not be possible for Taiwan to receive the first planes by the end of next year, about 21 months from now, Mei said.
The only way this could be true is if Lockheed-Martin has additional planes on hand, or plans to prioritize jets already on the production line for Taiwan, he added.
Media have reported that the firm would sell F-16Vs to Taiwan, although the Ministry of National Defense said that it would wait for the US’ recommendation before selecting a model and negotiating price.
Meanwhile, the ministry yesterday rejected a set of online images that claimed the UK is to purchase 138 F-35Bs for £9.1 billion (US$11.85 billion), whereas Taiwan is to spend more on 66 F-16s, which are older models.
According to the Fifth Special Report from the British House of Commons Defence Select Committee published on Feb. 26 last year, while the UK intended to purchase up to 138 F-35s, at the time of the report it had only approved £9.1 billion for 48 jets.
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