Taiwan is to receive the first two of 66 F-16V jets it purchased from the US almost a year later than originally scheduled, with Washington citing the COVID-19 pandemic for the delay, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday.
In a report to lawmakers ahead of a question-and-answer session with Minister of National Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正) at the legislature today, the ministry said that a single-seat model and two-seat version of the F-16V were to arrive before the end of the year.
However, it said it was recently notified by the US that delivery would be postponed until the third quarter of next year, with the US citing the pandemic for the delay.
Photo: CNA
The delay would not affect the delivery of the total purchase of new F-16Vs, which is to be completed as scheduled by the end of 2026, it said.
Taiwan has been asking the US to sell it more advanced fighter jets since 2003, and the administration of former US president Donald Trump approved the sale of the F-16Vs in 2019.
The US Air Force formed an ad hoc office to handle the project in March 2020 before a first meeting was held in July the same year.
The government has allocated NT$247.2 billion (US$8.04 billion) for the purchase, the ministry said.
In addition to the 66 F-16Vs, Taiwan also began a program in 2016 to retrofit its existing 140 F-16A/Bs into the more advanced F-16V format, which is expected to be completed later this year, it said.
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