Amid ongoing delivery delays, the Taiwanese Air Force is expected to begin test flights this month of the new F-16 Block 70s manufactured by Lockheed Martin, with the company currently having 54 aircraft on the assembly line. This is important news for the service, which is in the process of incorporating a fleet of around 66 aircraft acquired from the United States under an agreement reached during Trump’s first presidency, worth approximately USD 8 billion and originally slated for delivery by 2026.
The update was disclosed by the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Lieutenant General Lee Ching-jan, while attending a meeting of the Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee in Parliament: “So far, 54 aircraft have entered the production line, compared to 50 in October. Progress is accelerating.” He also added that if the test flights can indeed begin this month, it would represent an advance on the schedule, which has been affected by delays.
His remarks are consistent with statements made a month ago by Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo, who said that an acceleration in the production pace had been agreed upon with Lockheed, even mentioning that work would be carried out in double shifts each day to achieve this goal. Even so, the minister noted that although some F-16V airframes have already been assembled, delivering all aircraft originally planned for next year remains a challenge. He also emphasized that the country already has 141 fighters upgraded to the Block 70 standard from Block 20, with the modernization effort completed in 2023.
It is also important to recall that the incorporation of these 66 new fighters is part of a broader modernization plan for the Taiwanese Air Force, aimed at replacing the older Mirage 2000s and the now-retired R/F-5 Tiger IIs, which in their final years of service were used for reconnaissance missions. In line with this plan, the future objective is to station the new aircraft at Chihhang Air Base, where they will be assigned to three squadrons under the restructured 7th Tactical Fighter Wing. Taking into account both the modernization program and the acquisition of new fighters, the Taiwanese Air Force will be able to field a fleet of more than 200 aircraft by the end of the process.
Images used for illustrative purposes
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