DEFENSE / Taiwan will not receive all 66 F-16V jets by end of 2026: Air Force

Taipei, Oct. 23 (CNA) Taiwan will not receive all 66 F-16 Block 70 fighter jets it purchased from the United States by the end of next year as originally scheduled due to manpower shortages and supply chain disruptions, Air Force Chief of Staff Lee Ching-jan (李慶然) said Thursday at the Legislature.

During a meeting of the Legislative Yuan's Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, KMT Legislator Ma Wen-chun (馬文君) asked Defense Minister Wellington Koo (顧立雄) to clarify his remark on Tuesday that it would be "challenging" for Taiwan to receive all 66 F-16 Block 70 (also known as F-16V) jets by the end of 2026.

Answering the question on Koo's behalf, Lee said the arms procurement package, approved in 2019, has been affected by manpower shortages and supply chain disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war.

During his inspection of Lockheed Martin's facilities last month, Lee said he learned that the F-16 contractor has recruited more workers and increased working hours to expedite production.

"But the target won't be met next year by the look of things," Ma said, to which Lee agreed.

The Ministry of National Defense (MND) said in June that Taiwan would receive at least 10 F-16Vs by the end of this year.

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However, Lee told lawmakers Thursday that only 10 jets are expected to be assembled and undergo test flights by the end of 2025.

Noting that Taiwan has not yet received a single F-16 Block 70 jet despite having paid the U.S. over NT$150 billion (US$4.87 billion) of the NT$246.7 billion special budget for the procurement, Ma asked how many aircraft Taiwan could expect before the special budget expires.

Lee declined to provide a specific number, saying only that the Air Force is working with the U.S. to resolve difficulties in production.

Ma instructed the Air Force to submit a report on how it plans to address the "capability gap" expected to emerge between Taiwan's Air Force and China's People's Liberation Army Air Force in 2027.

She also asked the ministry to report on how any remaining funds from the special budget will be handled if the U.S. fails to deliver the jets.