Delivery of F-16 jets and attending equipment would be delayed, while the second batch of the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) is ahead of schedule and would be delivered by next year, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday.
The ministry’s budget for this year, delivered to the Legislative Yuan yesterday, and the special budget for the government’s procurement of new fighter jets showed that the remaining 15 purchases are on schedule.
Programs on schedule include the shore-mounted Harpoon Coastal Defense System, the purchases of M1A2T Abrams Main Battle Tanks (MBT) and 74 tankers, the ministry said.
Photo: AFP
The Harpoon missile system, consisting of 32 vehicle launcher systems and 128 missiles, was part of a NT$71 billion (US$2.2 billion) deal approved in 2020. The full delivery is scheduled for completion in 2028.
Thirty-eight of the 108 M1A2 tanks were delivered in December last year, with two additional shipments of 42 tanks each expected to arrive this year and next.
The ministry attributed the fighter jet delays to two issues, the first being the delayed delivery of the AGM-154 Joint Stand-off Weapon missiles — which the air force’s F-16V jets are equipped with from 2023 to next year — due to US production capabilities and trial times.
Second, the newly built F-16 block 70 jets have just rolled off Lockheed-Martin’s production lines and are undergoing ground tests, with the first jets expected to be flown back to Taiwan next year.
Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) on Thursday last week said that Taiwan intends to send deputy minister-level officials, accompanied by the air force’s deputy chief of staff, to attend the ceremonial event in the US marking the jet’s completion.
The ministry purchased 29 HIMARS and 84 MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) last year, with the first batch of 11 HIMARS and 64 ATACMS arriving that same year.
The remaining 18 HIMARS are expected to be delivered next year, ahead of the originally scheduled 2027, the ministry said.
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
Temperatures in northern Taiwan are forecast to reach as high as 30°C today, as an ongoing northeasterly seasonal wind system weakens, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said yesterday that with the seasonal wind system weakening, warmer easterly winds would boost the temperature today. Daytime temperatures in northern Taiwan and Yilan County are expected to range from 28°C to 30°C today, up about 3°C from yesterday, Tseng said. According to the CWA, temperature highs in central and southern Taiwan could stay stable. However, the weather is expected to turn cooler starting tonight as the northeasterly wind system strengthens again
COOLING OFF: Temperatures are expected to fall to lows of about 20°C on Sunday and possibly 18°C to 19°C next week, following a wave of northeasterly winds on Friday The Central Weather Administration (CWA) on Sunday forecast more rain and cooler temperatures for northern Taiwan this week, with the mercury dropping to lows of 18°C, as another wave of northeasterly winds sweeps across the country. The current northeasterly winds would continue to affect Taiwan through today, with precipitation peaking today, bringing increased rainfall to windward areas, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said. The weather system would weaken slightly tomorrow before another, stronger wave arrives on Friday, lasting into next week, Liu said. From yesterday to today, northern Taiwan can expect cool, wet weather, with lows of 22°C to 23°C in most areas,
Taiwan sweltered through its hottest October on record, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, the latest in a string of global temperature records. The main island endured its highest average temperature since 1950, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng said. Temperatures the world over have soared in recent years as human-induced climate change contributes to ever more erratic weather patterns. Taiwan’s average temperature was 27.381°C as of Thursday, Liu said. Liu said the average could slip 0.1°C by the end of yesterday, but it would still be higher than the previous record of 27.009°C in 2016. "The temperature only started lowering around Oct. 18 or 19
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