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.
UPDATED (3:40pm): A suspected gas explosion at a shopping mall in Taichung this morning has killed four people and injured 20 others, as emergency responders continue to investigate. The explosion occurred on the 12th floor of the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi in Situn District (西屯) at 11:33am. One person was declared dead at the scene, while three people were declared deceased later after receiving emergency treatment. Another 20 people sustained major or minor injuries. The Taichung Fire Bureau said it received a report of the explosion at 11:33am and sent rescuers to respond. The cause of the explosion is still under investigation, it said. The National Fire
ACCOUNTABILITY: The incident, which occured at a Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Department Store in Taichung, was allegedly caused by a gas explosion on the 12th floor Shin Kong Group (新光集團) president Richard Wu (吳昕陽) yesterday said the company would take responsibility for an apparent gas explosion that resulted in four deaths and 26 injuries at Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Zhonggang Store in Taichung yesterday. The Taichung Fire Bureau at 11:33am yesterday received a report saying that people were injured after an explosion at the department store on Section 3 of Taiwan Boulevard in Taichung’s Situn District (西屯). It sent 56 ambulances and 136 paramedics to the site, with the people injured sent to Cheng Ching Hospital’s Chung Kang Branch, Wuri Lin Shin Hospital, Taichung Veterans General Hospital or Chung
‘TAIWAN-FRIENDLY’: The last time the Web site fact sheet removed the lines on the US not supporting Taiwanese independence was during the Biden administration in 2022 The US Department of State has removed a statement on its Web site that it does not support Taiwanese independence, among changes that the Taiwanese government praised yesterday as supporting Taiwan. The Taiwan-US relations fact sheet, produced by the department’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, previously stated that the US opposes “any unilateral changes to the status quo from either side; we do not support Taiwan independence; and we expect cross-strait differences to be resolved by peaceful means.” In the updated version published on Thursday, the line stating that the US does not support Taiwanese independence had been removed. The updated
‘LAWFUL USE’: The last time a US warship transited the Taiwan Strait was on Oct. 20 last year, and this week’s transit is the first of US President Donald Trump’s second term Two US military vessels transited the Taiwan Strait from Sunday through early yesterday, the Ministry of National Defense said in a statement, the first such mission since US President Donald Trump took office last month. The two vessels sailed south through the Strait, the ministry said, adding that it closely monitored nearby airspace and waters at the time and observed nothing unusual. The ministry did not name the two vessels, but the US Navy identified them as the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Ralph Johnson and the Pathfinder-class survey ship USNS Bowditch. The ships carried out a north-to-south transit from