The upgrade of the nation’s F-16A/B jets to the F-16V variant would be completed next year as scheduled, but the planes would be fitted with alternative weapons systems, as the delivery of those purchased from the US has been delayed, the air force said yesterday.
All of the air force’s 140 F-16A/Bs are being upgraded to F-16Vs under a retrofit program that was launched in 2016. The upgrade involves the addition of advanced avionics such as APG-83 Scalable Agile Beam Radar and a helmet-mounted cueing system, as well as other flight management and electronic warfare systems.
The US in 2017 also agreed to sell Taiwan 56 AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapons, or glide bombs, at a cost of US$185.5 million, but it has yet to deliver the weapons meant to be fitted on the F-16Vs, the air force said.
Photo: Ann Wang, Reuters
The armament would be temporarily replaced with alternative precision weapons, such as the air-to-surface anti-radiation AGM-88 HARM missile and the all-weather anti-ship AGM-84 Harpoon missile, it said.
The retrofit program is expected to be completed next year on schedule, the air force said, denying reports that it would be delayed by three years.
The reports were based on the Ministry of National Defense’s budget proposal for fiscal 2023 that was sent to the legislature last week, the air force said.
The proposal showed that budgetary allocations for retrofitting and equipping the planes would extend into 2026, three years past the scheduled completion date, which caused the confusion, it said.
Taiwan has also purchased 66 new F-16Vs from the US, and their delivery is expected to start next year, the air force said.
The ministry’s budget proposal allocates NT$2.6 billion (US$84.7 million) to the acquisition of mortars, grenade launchers and night vision goggles, all of which would be used in the training of reservists.
Reservist training aims to improve Taiwan’s combat readiness and create a more reliable backup force for regular troops amid China’s growing military threats, the ministry said.
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
CHANGES: After-school tutoring periods, extracurricular activities during vacations or after-school study periods must not be used to teach new material, the ministry said The Ministry of Education yesterday announced new rules that would ban giving tests to most elementary and junior-high school students during morning study and afternoon rest periods. The amendments to regulations governing public education at elementary schools and junior high schools are to be implemented on Aug. 1. The revised rules stipulate that schools are forbidden to use after-school tutoring periods, extracurricular activities during summer or winter vacation or after-school study periods to teach new course material. In addition, schools would be prohibited from giving tests or exams to students in grades one to eight during morning study and afternoon break periods, the
Advocates of the rights of motorcycle and scooter riders yesterday protested in front of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications in Taipei, making three demands. They were joined by 30 passenger vehicles, which surrounded the ministry to make three demands related to traffic regulations — that motorcycles and scooters above 250cc be allowed on highways, that all motorcycles and scooters be allowed on inside lanes, and that driver and rider training programs be reformed. The ministry said that it has no plans to allow motorcycles on national highways for the time being, and said that motorcycles would be allowed on the inner
AMENDMENT: Contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau must be reported, and failure to comply could result in a prison sentence, the proposal stated The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) yesterday voted against a proposed bill by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers that would require elected officials to seek approval before visiting China. DPP Legislator Puma Shen’s (沈伯洋) proposed amendments to the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), stipulate that contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau should be reported, while failure to comply would be punishable by prison sentences of up to three years, alongside a fine of NT$10 million (US$309,041). Fifty-six voted with the TPP in opposition