The military’s upgraded Lockheed Martin F-16s are a major boost to Taiwan’s defense, defense experts said yesterday, as the air force marked the commission of the jets in a ceremony at Chiayi Air Base.
The program, which is to involve adding active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar systems, advanced equipment and airframe modifications, is to bring 141 legacy F-16A/Bs jets to the F-16V Block 20 standard.
Compared with the pre-upgrade models, the F-16V Block 20 is 1.8 times more effective, 2.2 times better at threat detection, 2.45 times better at cooperative engagements and 1.6 times better at weapons integration, National Policy Foundation senior assistant research fellow Chieh Chung (揭仲) said.
Photo: Cheng I-hwa, Bloomberg
The AESA-type AN/APG-83 radar system represents a 30 percent improvement in detection range over the APG66(v3) system that it replaces, and is more effective in detecting the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Chengdu J-20 stealth fighters, Chieh said.
The upgrade program and procurement of 66 F-16V Block 70 jets from the US is to give the air force nearly 210 AESA-equipped fighter jets, he said, adding that the aircraft “significantly reduce China’s advantage in stealth fighters.”
Although Taiwan’s air force once boasted a peak strength of 330 fighters, all but 80 aircraft were incapable of communicating or sharing tactical imagery in real time with the Northrop Grumman E-2K airborne radar systems, the Heng Shan Military Command Center and the Keelung-class destroyers, Chieh said.
“The air force’s potential to defeat a numerically superior enemy in modern air defense operations is greatly enhanced by the integrated tactical network capabilities offered by 4.5-generation fighters such as F-16Vs,” he said.
The fighter jets also fit well within the military’s doctrine, which calls for long-distance strike abilities against PLA offensive weapon systems, and emphasizes the importance of defense in depth, he said.
The F-16V’s capability to attack sea and ground-based targets with precision-guided munitions is crucial for carrying out military operations in the deep, expansive defense zone envisioned by the Ministry of National Defense’s report for this year, he said.
The document says that the armed forces’ concept of all-out defense has shifted from defending beachheads and waters near Taiwan to pushing the defense zone toward the enemy, he said.
Under the revised doctrine, the nation’s defensive perimeter encompasses the seas off China’s Fujian Province, the Miyako Strait, the western reaches of the Pacific Ocean and the Bashi Channel, he said.
Lin Ying-yu (林穎佑), an assistant professor of strategic and international affairs at National Chung Cheng University, said that the AESA-equipped F-16Vs would be a welcome improvement for the air force.
However, the military should avoid wearing out its fighter pilots and ground crews with more careful management of sorties, Lin said, adding that the human factor should not be ignored in favor of technological ones.
Additional reporting by CNA
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