RoCAF's F-16 upgrade programme is ‘back on track', says Taiwanese defence minister

Taiwan’s programme to upgrade 142 Republic of China Air Force (RoCAF) F-16A/B fighter aircraft to the latest F-16V configuration is back on track, according to Defence Minister Yen Teh-fa.

Speaking to reporters on 16 October, Yen admitted that the Phoenix Rising programme had suffered delays because of a shortage in manpower at the state-owned aviation company Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation (AIDC), but pointed out that an additional 200 employees have now been hired at AIDC's purpose-built F-16 upgrade facility in Taichung. As a result, the programme is expected to be completed as planned in 2022.

Taiwan’s programme to upgrade RoCAF F-16A/B fighter aircraft to the latest F-16V configuration (seen here) is back on track, according to Defence Minister Yen Teh-fa. (Lockheed Martin)

The programme, which was launched in 2016, is being carried out by Lockheed Martin and its local partner AIDC, with the first upgraded F-16V aircraft being delivered to the RoCAF in October 2018.

First unveiled at the Singapore Airshow in 2012, the F-16V features the Northrop Grumman AN/APG-83 Scalable Agile Beam Radar (SABR) active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar (derived from the F-16E/F Block 60 AN/APG-80), a new Raytheon mission computer, the Link 16 datalink, modern cockpit displays, an enhanced electronic warfare (EW) system, and a ground collision avoidance system.

The F-16Vs will be able to carry various weapon systems, including air-to-surface ordnance such as the AGM-154 Joint Stand-Off Weapon (JSOW) and the AGM-88 High-speed Anti-Radiation Missile (HARM). Among the air-to-air weapons that can be carried by the aircraft is the AIM-9X Sidewinder infrared-guided air-to-air missile (AAM), which can be aimed by the pilot using the Joint Helmet-Mounted Cueing System.