Taiwan receives first two new F-16Vs in move experts see as continued US support, boosting defense capabilities

Taiwan’s first two newly built F-16V Block 70 fighter jets have arrived, a development experts say signals continued US support for Taiwan and will help strengthen the island’s air-defense capabilities as further deliveries proceed.

The arrival

The first two of 66 new US-built F-16V Block 70 fighter jets purchased by Taiwan landed at Chihhang Air Base in Taitung on Oct. 2.

President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) said in a Facebook post that the arrival of the first two F-16V Block 70s marked an important advance in strengthening Taiwan’s air-defense capabilities and demonstrated Taiwan’s determination to bolster self-defense and safeguard peace through strength.

Preserving peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait remains Taiwan’s unwavering goal, Lai said, emphasizing that a stronger national defense deters aggression, reduces the risk of conflict, and helps safeguard peace.

Defense Minister Koo Li-hsiung (顧立雄) said on Oct. 2 that more F-16Vs will arrive before year-end, noting Taiwan is coordinating with the US project management office to schedule subsequent delivery flights.

The two aircraft arrived in Hawaii on Aug. 21 but were held there for over two weeks due to typhoon-related weather delays along their route to Taiwan.

Political signal

Democratic Progressive Party legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷), a member of the Foreign and National Defense Committee, said inducting the new jets delivers a substantive boost to Taiwan’s air defense and marks a new era for the island’s air power.

Chen noted that the recent Trump-Xi summit brought no structural shift to US policy or arms sales to Taiwan, demonstrating that bilateral security cooperation rests on established institutional commitments rather than individual meetings.

Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), director of the Division of Defense Strategy and Resources at Taiwan’s Institute for National Defense and Security Research, expressed a similar view.

Su told TCN that the arrival of the first two F-16V Block 70s reflected the continuity of US policy toward Taiwan, whose basic framework remains grounded in the Taiwan Relations Act and the Six Assurances.

Despite technical delays integrating the AN/ALQ-254 Viper Shield electronic warfare suite, Su argued the aircraft's early October arrival holds strategic value, landing between high-level US-China talks and Taiwan’s National Day as tangible evidence of ongoing US defense support.

Strengthening defense capabilities

Taiwan’s newly built F-16V Block 70s feature conformal fuel tanks that add 450 gallons of fuel without occupying underwing pylons, extending range and loiter time while preserving weapon stations for air-to-air, air-to-ground, and anti-ship munitions.

Compared to Taiwan’s existing F-16 Block 20 fleet, the newly built jets offer higher takeoff weight, increased engine thrust, and an extended 12,000-hour service life. The equipment also includes active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, updated avionics, radar-absorbent coating, and an automatic ground-collision avoidance system (Auto-GCAS).

Overall, the Block 70 configuration is expected to improve the Air Force’s long-range operational reach, survivability in contested environments and flight safety.

Chen called on the Air Force to swiftly integrate the new fighters, enabling joint operations with existing aircraft to establish layered defenses and preserve regional air superiority across the strait.

Deploying the F-16V Block 70s to Chihhang Air Base will boost Taiwan’s defensive flexibility across eastern and southern airspace, Su said. Operating alongside shore-based anti-ship missiles, submarines, and other assets, the fighters would strengthen surveillance and deterrence in the Bashi Channel, while forces at Hualien’s Chiashan Air Base bolster defenses toward the Miyako Strait. 

“This will raise the cost for Beijing of conducting air and maritime harassment or military operations from the direction of Taiwan’s east coast,” Su said.

Delivery delays

The US approved Taiwan’s purchase of 66 F-16 Block 70 fighters in 2019 under the Fengxiang Project. The first aircraft were originally scheduled for delivery in 2023, with all 66 expected to arrive by the end of 2026.

However, the timetable was significantly delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, global supply-chain bottlenecks, and Lockheed Martin’s relocation and re-establishment of its F-16 production line from Texas to South Carolina.

The two aircraft that arrived on Oct. 2 are the first delivered under the Fengxiang Project, with 64 more still to be handed over.

Su expressed optimism about the remaining delivery schedule, noting that Taiwan qualifies as a relatively high priority for US foreign military sales given its recent defense spending hikes and urgent regional security needs.

Pointing to remarks made in March 2026 by Defense Security Cooperation Agency Director Michael Miller, Su noted that a 2023 directive placed Taiwan at the top of the US arms production and delivery queue, signaling that subsequent F-16 shipments remain on the fast track.

Taiwan’s overall defense posture

Su assessed that even if all 66 F-16Vs do not become operational on the original timetable, Taiwan’s overall defense posture would not be fundamentally altered.

While shore-based systems like Patriot, Tien Kung, and Hsiung Feng missiles remain the backbone of Taiwan's deterrence against invasion, Su said the incoming F-16V fleet provides crucial operational flexibility for joint combat missions.

Major arms purchases follow a long-term framework of “10-year force building and five-year restructuring,” Su said, downplaying delivery delays as manageable and noting that while the F-16V program has been planned since 2019, no single weapons platform alone determines Taiwan’s defense readiness.