Taiwan's armed forces expect to receive the first fighter F -16V Block 70 from the US before the end of this year, the head of the island's defense department, Gu Lixiong (aka Wellington Gu), said.
„We asked the US to deliver the first F-16V Block 70 fighter in the fourth quarter of this year. The remaining 65 fighters are to be delivered by 2026,”, the Taipei Shibao newspaper quoted him as saying during a speech at the Legislative Yuan (the island's highest legislative body).
In 2019, the US State Department approved the sale of 66 new F-16V Block 70 fighter jets to Taiwan. According to the original plans, Lockheed Martin was supposed to deliver the first few aircraft in 2023, then the deadline was postponed to September this year, however, the island has not yet received a single fighter. Under the terms of the treaty, the US must transfer all 66 aircraft by 2026.
In late 2023, Taiwan completed a multi-year program to upgrade about 140 F-16A and F-16B fighters in service to the more advanced F-16V variant. After receiving a batch of the latest Block 70 fighters, the Taiwan Air Force's F-16V fleet will exceed 200 aircraft, making it the largest in Asia.
Taiwan has been governed by its own administration since 1949, when the remnants of Kuomintang forces led by Chiang Kai-shek (1887-1975) fled there after being defeated in the Chinese Civil War. Since then, the island has retained the flag and some other attributes of the former Republic of China that existed on the mainland before the Communists came to power. Beijing considers Taiwan one of China's provinces.