Taiwan receives first long-awaited F-16C/D Block 70 jets from US

Taipei: Taiwan on Friday received the first of its long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets from the US during a delivery ceremony held at Lockheed Martin's factory in the US's Greenville, South Carolina, Taipei Times reported on Sunday.

According to Taipei Times, Taiwan's Deputy Minister of National Defence Po Horng-huei and Representative to the US Alexander Yui attended the event.

US Representative William Timmons also expressed pride in supporting Taiwan's air defence capabilities, sharing a photo of the ceremony on X.

"We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan's air defence capabilities," he said, taking to X as quoted by Taipei Times.

The F-16C/D Block 70 jets delivered to Taiwan have similar capabilities to those of the F-16Vs after upgrades, as per the Taipei Times. The jets will be assigned to Taiwan's newly formed 7th Tactical Fighter Wing, which will focus on defending the eastern region of the island.

In January, Taiwanese President William Lai noted that two of the three tactical groups in the wing had already been staffed and were awaiting the jets' arrival.

Taipei Times reported that the F-16C/D Block 70 is expected to be the last version of Lockheed Martin's F-16, as the US and its allies transition to F-35 stealth fighters.

Key features of the F-16C/D Block 70 jets include AN/APG-83 active electronically scanned arrays, AN/ALQ-254(V)1 all-digital electronic warfare suites, conformal fuel tanks, and upgraded mission computers, cockpits, and interface systems. The aircraft are capable of firing AIM-120 and AIM-9 air-to-air missiles and various ground attack munitions, such as anti-radiation missiles, GPS-guided bombs, and the long-range AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon glide bombs recently acquired by Taiwan.

Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence expressed gratitude to US government agencies for making the delivery possible and highlighted Washington's commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act and the "six assurances".

The Ministry also stated that it is working with the US to ensure the jets are delivered on time, addressing concerns over production delays that have affected the procurement process. According to the Taipei Times, citing Defence expert Mei Fu-hsing, while the jets are expected to be equipped with the advanced AN/ALQ-254(V)1 electronic warfare suite, the first jet delivered may lack this feature. Taiwan may need to retrofit the jet with the older ALQ-184(V) electronic warfare system as a substitute.