31 October 2019

Taiwan approves F-16V procurement funding

by Gareth Jennings

Taiwan has approved the procurement of 66 Lockheed Martin F-16V Fighting Falcon combat aircraft to add to those already received under an ongoing upgrade plan.

By the time procurements and upgrades are complete, the Republic of China Air Force will field 208 F-16V combat aircraft. (Lockheed Martin)

The President of the Republic of China, Tsai Ing-wen, tweeted on 30 October that the country’s Legislative Yuan, one of the five branches of government, approved funding for the buy “in a multi-partisan effort that reflects our collective will to defend our liberty and sovereignty”.

The announcement by the president comes about two months after the US State Department cleared Taiwan to buy 66 of the latest F-16C/D Block 70 aircraft. The F-16C/D Block 70/72 is more commonly designated F-16V.

As noted by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) that announced the approval, the proposed deal would be valued at approximately USD8 billion, including related equipment, weapons, training and support.

The procurement of a further 66 F-16Vs would boost the Republic of China Air Force’s (RoCAF’s) ongoing Phoenix Rising programme, which involves the upgrade of 142 older F-16A/B aircraft to the F-16V standard. The first upgraded aircraft was received back by the RoCAF in October 2018, and the programme is slated to be complete in 2022.

As the most advanced iteration of the F-16 to date, the F-16V features the Northrop Grumman AN/APG-83 active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar (derived from the F-16E/F Block 60 AN/APG-80, and also known as the Scalable Agile Beam Radar [SABR]), a new Raytheon mission computer, the Link 16 datalink, modern cockpit displays, an enhanced electronic warfare system, and a ground-collision avoidance system.

Taiwan has approved the procurement of 66 Lockheed Martin F-16V Fighting Falcon combat aircraft to a...

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