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.
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