Taiwan’s Air Force received the first two of 66 new-build F-16C Block 70 fighter jets on Oct. 2, 2026, at Chihhang Air Base in Taitung County, marking the start of deliveries under a long-delayed, approximately $8 billion U.S. foreign military sale approved in 2019.
The two single-seat aircraft, serials 6727 and 6728, touched down around noon local time after a delivery flight that began Aug. 17 from Lockheed Martin’s production facility in Greenville, South Carolina. The jets were held in Hawaii for more than a month, then departed Hawaii again on Oct. 1, stopping in Guam before completing the final leg to Taiwan.
Taiwan’s government budgeted NT$247.2 billion (about $8 billion) for the purchase between 2020 and 2026. Deliveries were originally expected to begin in 2023 and finish by the end of 2026, but production-line adjustments, supply-chain problems, software integration issues, and COVID-related impacts pushed the schedule back. Lockheed Martin unveiled the first newly built F-16 Block 70 for Taiwan in March 2025.
The Block 70 is the newest production version of the F-16, featuring the AN/APG-83 active electronically scanned array radar, a newer mission computer, updated electronic warfare and communications systems, conformal fuel tanks, and strengthened landing gear. The aircraft are equipped with the L3Harris AN/ALQ-254(V)1 Viper Shield electronic warfare suite, which Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense acknowledged in late September was a factor in delivery delays as the system was still moving into production.
The new jets will be based at Chihhang, where they will undergo ground inspections while pilots and maintainers convert to the aircraft. Taiwan already operates more than 140 older F-16A/B fighters upgraded to a similar F-16V standard in a program completed in 2023. The 66 new jets will take Taiwan’s F-16 fleet to more than 200 aircraft.
Taiwanese Defense Minister Wellington Koo said more F-16Vs will arrive before the end of the year, though he did not provide a specific number. Remaining deliveries are expected to stretch into 2027 and 2028. The delivery came about a week after U.S. President Donald Trump met Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Washington. Taiwan is still waiting for U.S. approval of a separate arms package worth about $14 billion that Trump paused after Chinese objections.
Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense has stated the procurement was launched in response to “enemy threats and urgent national defense needs,” and that the deal demonstrates the U.S. government’s commitment to assist Taiwan in improving its self-defense capabilities in accordance with the Taiwan Relations Act and the Six Assurances.
Sources: Defence Blog · Defense News