DEFENSE/Vice defense minister attends delivery ceremony of Taiwan's 1st F-16 blk70 in U.S.
Taipei, March 29 (CNA) Taiwan's Vice Defense Minister Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) on Friday attended the delivery ceremony of the first F-16 C/D block 70 fighter jet that the country has purchased from the United States.
His presence was revealed in two photographs published that day by Congressman William Timmons on the social media platform X. Taiwan's representative to the United States Alexander Yui (俞大㵢) was also seen in one of the photos attending the event held at Lockheed Martin's production site in Greenville, South Carolina.
"We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan's air defense capabilities," Timmons wrote in his post.
Earlier this month, Taiwan's Defense Minister Wellington Koo (顧立雄) revealed at a legislative hearing that one of Taiwan's vice defense ministers will visit the United States to observe the ceremony, but did not provide further details.
Based on one of Timmons' released pictures, Taiwan's first F-16 C/D block 70 jet that rolled off the production line is a two-seater with the tail number 6831.
It is one of the 66 F-16Vs that Taiwan has purchased from the United States in an arms sale package approved in 2019 during U.S. President Donald Trump's first term in office.
According to the Ministry of National Defense, Taiwan expects to receive all 66 of the latest F-16 fighter jets from the United States by the end of 2026.
- Growing number of Taiwanese want bigger defense budget: PollFifty-one percent of Taiwanese support increasing Taiwan's defense budget, including 44 percent in favor of a "significant increase," a recent survey commissioned by the Institute for National Defense and Security Research (INDSR) has found.05/07/2025 02:11 PM
- Air Force launches probe into fighter jet's misfiring of flareTaiwan's Air Force said Thursday that it was investigating the accidental firing of a flare from one of its Indigenous Defense Fighter (IDF) jets the previous day.05/01/2025 01:07 PM
- Swarms of Chinese warplanes detected Wednesday near Taiwan: MNDTaiwan's Ministry of National Defense (MND) said Thursday that a large number of Chinese military aircraft were detected near Taiwan on Wednesday, during a "joint combat readiness patrol" drill held by China.05/01/2025 11:35 AM
- Business
Economics minister talks chip, AI cooperation with Texas governor
05/17/2025 03:58 PM - Culture
- Society
Chinese father and son arrested after sailing to Taiwan illegally
05/17/2025 12:20 PM - Society
Taiwan headline news
05/17/2025 11:16 AM - Politics
Legislature passes referendum proposal on opposing death penalty abolition
05/16/2025 09:36 PM