The first of the nation’s 66 F-16 Block 70 jets is soon to roll off the Lockheed-Martin production line in the US, with Taiwan intending to send deputy minister-level officials to attend the event marking its completion, Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) told a legislative committee on Thursday.
The US has also provided its preliminary list of who would attend the event, Koo said, adding that it would be inappropriate for him to divulge further information at the meeting of the Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee.
The air force plans to send its deputy chief of staff to accompany the deputy minister of national defense to the event, air force Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Wang Te-yang (王德揚) said, adding that it would take place “soon.”
Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
With the arrival of the F-16 Block 70, the air force would be operating two variants of the F-16 jets, with the F-16 Block 20 being upgraded after the Feng Chan Project (鳳展計畫), the Ministry of National Defense has said.
New equipment, including the AIM-120D air-to-air missiles outfitted by the air force’s Fourth Tactical Wing 22nd Tactical Fighter Group, has improved the air force’s ability to deter potential aerial invasions, it said.
After a year of training, F-16V jets in the air force’s Fourth and Fifth Tactical Fighter Wings have recently completed training exercises using AGM-88 high-speed anti-radiation missiles simulating attack runs against the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) radar facilities, it added.
The ministry is also considering purchasing electronic warfare pods to enhance its fleet of F-16V jets and would be listing the purchase in its fiscal 2026 budget, it said.
In other developments, the military’s five-day combat-readiness exercise is to commence on Monday involving all three services.
The exercise would be unscripted and simulate real combat scenarios, which would better prepare units for a possible invasion, the ministry said.
The military would be monitoring PLA “gray zone” exercises — which might mask potential real invasions — to assess threat levels and would conduct its own combat-readiness drills to prepare for any escalation, Koo said earlier this month.
The ministry said it is also extending the computer-assisted simulation and live exercise sections of this year’s Han Kuang drills to 14 days and 10 days respectively.
The military-affiliated Youth Daily News yesterday reported that the army’s Sixth Army Corps Commander Lieutenant General Chen Wen-hsing (陳文星) on Thursday convened a meeting with staff officers to prepare for the upcoming exercise.
The exercise aims to simulate real combat situations and test troops’ response to unexpected incidents, Chen said.
The goal is to ensure troops would be able to mobilize for warfare immediately, he said.
Taiwanese Olympic badminton men’s doubles gold medalist Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) and his new partner, Chiu Hsiang-chieh (邱相榤), clinched the men’s doubles title at the Yonex Taipei Open yesterday, becoming the second Taiwanese team to win a title in the tournament. Ranked 19th in the world, the Taiwanese duo defeated Kang Min-hyuk and Ki Dong-ju of South Korea 21-18, 21-15 in a pulsating 43-minute final to clinch their first doubles title after teaming up last year. Wang, the men’s doubles gold medalist at the 2020 and 2024 Olympics, partnered with Chiu in August last year after the retirement of his teammate Lee Yang
FALSE DOCUMENTS? Actor William Liao said he was ‘voluntarily cooperating’ with police after a suspect was accused of helping to produce false medical certificates Police yesterday questioned at least six entertainers amid allegations of evasion of compulsory military service, with Lee Chuan (李銓), a member of boy band Choc7 (超克7), and actor Daniel Chen (陳大天) among those summoned. The New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office in January launched an investigation into a group that was allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified medical documents. Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) has been accused of being one of the group’s clients. As the investigation expanded, investigators at New Taipei City’s Yonghe Precinct said that other entertainers commissioned the group to obtain false documents. The main suspect, a man surnamed
US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer began talks with high-ranking Chinese officials in Switzerland yesterday aiming to de-escalate a dispute that threatens to cut off trade between the world’s two biggest economies and damage the global economy. The US delegation has begun meetings in Geneva with a Chinese delegation led by Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (何立峰), Xinhua News Agency said. Diplomats from both sides also confirmed that the talks have begun, but spoke anonymously and the exact location of the talks was not made public. Prospects for a major breakthrough appear dim, but there is
The number of births in Taiwan fell to an all-time monthly low last month, while the population declined for the 16th consecutive month, Ministry of the Interior data released on Friday showed. The number of newborns totaled 8,684, which is 704 births fewer than in March and the lowest monthly figure on record, the ministry said. That is equivalent to roughly one baby born every five minutes and an annual crude birthrate of 4.52 per 1,000 people, the ministry added. Meanwhile, 17,205 deaths were recorded, resulting in a natural population decrease of 8,521, the data showed. More people are also leaving Taiwan, with net