The first new F-16V launches: 66 weapons sales are in the delivery phase

Taiwan purchased 66 new F-16V Block 70 fighters from the United States, finally from a long production delay into the real delivery phase.

According to the Japanese "Product News" and other media news, in 2019, the United States approved the sale of 66 new F-16V fighter jets to Taiwan, the first two have already departed from the United States, and are expected to arrive in Taiwan in the near future.

The progress is not just a single media report.The Taiwan Central Agency previously cited informed sources to confirm that the first two F-16V Block 70s had departed from the United States on August 17; The Taipei Times also that the two aircraft numbered 6727 and 6728 respectively and had left Lockheed Martin's production facility in South Carolina.

This means that Taiwan’s years-waiting F-16V purchasing plan has come up with a substantial node: the focus is no longer on whether the U.S. approves the sale, nor whether the fighter aircraft is going into production, but the first aircraft are really beginning to cross the Pacific into the delivery process.

From approval of arms sales in 2019 to real-time launch in 2026

Taiwan’s 66 new F-16 C/D Block 70 fighters originated from a 2019 U.S.-approved arms sale to Taiwan, with a total value of more than $7 billion.Taiwan has subsequently pushed for “special regulations on the procurement of new types of fighters” with a special budget and plans to expand its existing F-16 fleet.

Unlike Taiwan's current F-16 upgraded to form the F-16V, the 66 is not an old-fashioned modification, but a newly produced Block 70.

The initial delivery time was influenced by factors such as re-establishment of the production line, supply chain and software integration, and Taiwan has been constantly demanding that the United States accelerate progress in recent years.

The Taipei Times that the first two take-off fighter jets have been fitted with long-range transfer tanks, three sub-wing fuel tanks and related equipment.Taiwan Defense Minister Zhou Li-Joon has previously said that the first new F-16Vs will enter the return phase this year.

Taipei Times: Taiwan F-16V leaves U.S. production facility

Therefore, the significance of the departure of the first aircraft is first and foremost that, after years of delay, the U.S. military arms sale to Taiwan has finally begun to transition from contracts, production and testing to military equipment that Taiwan can actually receive.

Why Deployment in the East of Taiwan Is Worth Worrying

The Taipei Times has also that the 66 F-16 C/D Block 70 planes are planned to be operated by the Seventh Tactical Fighter Coalition of the Taiwan Air Force for defense in eastern Taiwan.

The position of eastern Taiwan in the entire Taiwan Sea defense system is of special significance.

Unlike the western Taiwan directly facing the Taiwan Strait, the east has long assumed an important role in the preservation, reserve deployment and maintenance of continued operational capabilities.After the Chinese military aircraft and warships continued to expand the scope of activities around Taiwan, the east of Taiwan can no longer be seen as an absolute security behind the military threat.

This is also why the new F-16V deployment direction is worth paying attention.

If 66 new aircraft eventually form a full combat force, Taiwan will gain not only an increase in the number of fighters, but can further adjust the existing fleet deployment, training, combat preparation rotation and the distribution of air defense resources in the west.

What does the F-16V really add?

The F-16V Block 70 still belongs to the fourth-generation fighter system, so it cannot simply be described as a “decisive weapon” that can radically change the contrast of military power in the Taiwan Sea.

Its significance is closer to strengthening the overall quality of Taiwan’s existing air defense system.

Block 70 uses APG-83 active electronic scanning array radar and modern aerospace systems, and can integrate advanced air-to-air and ground weapons.The high commonality between the existing F-16 systems and Taiwan also means that Taiwan does not need to rebuild a complete set of pilots, maintenance personnel, logistics and weapons systems for a completely different fighter aircraft.

This is important for Taiwan.

In the face of the constant consumption of Taiwan Air Force resources with military aircraft circumvention, joint war alert surveillance and large-scale military exercises, Taiwan needs to solve not only whether there are advanced fighter jets, but also the fighter aircraft appropriateness rate, pilot training, ammunition inventory, base survival and how much continuous operational capability can be retained after the first round of missile attacks.

Therefore, evaluating the 66 F-16Vs is not just counting the number of aircraft.

What really needs to be observed is how much stability these aircraft can eventually form, and whether Taiwan can simultaneously improve base defense, runway repairs, ammunition reserves, decentralized deployment and command communication capabilities.

Focus on China: Beijing's real face is Taiwan's refusal to disarm

From the perspective of Beijing, the first two F-16Vs alone are of course not enough to change the entire Taiwan Navy's contrast of strength.

But measuring the news only by “two planes” would also ignore its true political and strategic significance.

In recent years, the CPC has continuously put military pressure on Taiwan through military aircraft, warships, missiles and large-scale exercises, with the aim not only of preparing for potential military action, but also of creating a political expectation through long-term high pressure that Taiwan will eventually be unable to resist the continental expanding military advantage.

The continuous delivery of the F-16V represents exactly another reality.

Taiwan has not stopped its military modernization due to the expansion of the U.S. Army, and the United States has not stopped its major weapons projects already approved by Beijing because of its opposition.

This is what Beijing really doesn’t want to see.

The 66 F-16Vs cannot solve all of the military threats facing Taiwan alone, which does not mean that Taiwan can rely on a single fighter to absolute security, but the combination of these aircraft with Taiwan's F-16Vs, ground air defense systems, anti-ship missiles, early warning systems and the continuous military equipment provided by the United States will continue to increase the cost of Chinese military action that must be calculated.

For a regime that tries to rely on military deterrence to force Taiwan to accept political conditions, the biggest obstacle is not a weapon, but the continued strengthening of society’s resistance.

Therefore, the real question of the first F-16V departure to Taiwan is not whether the two aircraft can beat the Liberation Army, but whether Taiwan's military modernization can continue to advance at the pace of China's military expansion.

At the same time, the multi-year delay in arms sales could not be overlooked because the first planes finally took off.

If the U.S. wants military support for Taiwan to be a real deterrent, then weapons sales approval is only the first step: production speed, delivery speed, ammunition supplies, maintenance guarantees and continuous wartime supplementation capabilities determine how much paper contracts can eventually turn into real combat force.

It is also the case for Taiwan. arms procurement cannot replace defense reform.After the aircraft entered the base, how to preserve, how to disperse, how to continue to fly after a missile attack, and how to cooperate with air defense, naval and unmanned combat systems is a real test of the final military value of the 66 F-16V.

The first two aircraft crossed the Pacific Ocean and this was just the beginning of the test.