Taiwan has received more than US$70 million in royalties as of the end of last year from developing the F-16V jet as countries worldwide purchase or upgrade to this popular model, government and military officials said on Saturday.
Taiwan funded the development of the F-16V jet and ended up the sole investor as other countries withdrew from the program.
Now the F-16V is increasingly popular and countries must pay Taiwan a percentage in royalties when they purchase new F-16V aircraft or upgrade older F-16 models.
Photo: CNA
The next five years are expected to be the peak for these royalties, with Taiwan potentially earning hundreds of millions of US dollars, officials said.
While the international community was largely focused on developing fifth-generation fighter jets, Taiwan’s decision to continue developing the 4.5-generation F-16V jet despite international doubts has paid off, they said.
About 5,000 F-16 aircraft of all models have been produced since they entered service in the late 1970s, and about 3,000 are still in service across about 30 countries.
The aircraft, produced by US defense company Lockheed Martin, is the most popular fourth- generation and 4.5-generation aircraft worldwide.
The F-16V upgrades the F-16’s performance with its AN/APG-83 AESA radar, advanced avionics and automatic ground collision avoidance systems.
Taiwan led development of the radar and advanced avionics system.
The US and Egypt participated at first but later withdrew, leaving Taiwan as the sole investor.
The contract stipulates that when other countries purchase F-16V aircraft or upgrade older F-16 aircraft to the V version, they must pay Taiwan royalties.
Since fifth-generation fighter jets produced in the US are expensive, many countries are purchasing or upgrading to F-16V aircraft, which have the same radar as fifth-generation jets such as the F-35.
Taiwan received its first royalty payment for F-16V aircraft in 2019.
Former US Department of Defense official Tony Hu (胡振東) previously said that Taiwan earned about NT$60 million in F-16V royalties during his tenure.
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