By Ben Blanchard
TAIPEI (Reuters) -Taiwan’s defence ministry mentioned on Friday it was aiming for supply of the primary new F-16V fighter jets by the top of this 12 months, blaming “acute fluctuations” within the worldwide scenario for delays within the island receiving them.
The US in 2019 authorised an $8 billion sale of Lockheed Martin (NYSE:) F-16 fighter jets to Taiwan, a deal that will take the island’s F-16 fleet to greater than 200 jets, the biggest in Asia, to strengthen its defences within the face of a stepped up risk from China, which views Taiwan as its personal.
Taiwan has been changing 141 F-16A/B jets into the F-16V sort and has ordered 66 new F-16Vs, which have superior avionics, weapons and radar programs to higher face down the Chinese language air drive, together with its J-20 stealth fighter.
However Taiwan has complained of delays for the brand new F-16Vs, saying issues embody software program points.
In an replace on the deliveries, Taiwan’s defence ministry mentioned the primary batch of latest F-16Vs was meant to have been despatched within the third quarter of this 12 months.
“Because of acute fluctuations in the international situation, which have resulted in a compound impact such as delays in deliveries of some suppliers and adjustments to the U.S. assembly schedule, there has been a partial adjustment in when they will leave the factory,” it mentioned in a press release.
The ministry will “strive to complete the shipment of the first aircraft in the fourth quarter”.
The air drive will hold a detailed watch on the manufacturing schedule and make manufacturing facility visits with the goal to have the deliveries accomplished by the top of 2026, it added.
Lockheed Martin advised Reuters it was “grateful for the trust Taiwan has placed in us across its F-16 programmes”.
“In partnership with the U.S. government, Lockheed Martin is focused on developing F-16 capabilities,” it added.
The U.S. State Division mentioned lengthy supply dates weren’t a Taiwan-specific problem.
“The U.S. government is actively reviewing our policies and processes to ensure that we move arms sales cases as quickly as possible, particularly for Taiwan,” it mentioned in a press release.
Taiwan has reported delays to U.S. weapons deliveries resembling Stinger anti-aircraft missiles since 2022, as producers give provides to Ukraine to assist it battle Russian forces, and the difficulty has involved U.S. lawmakers.
Taiwan’s air drive is well-trained however a few of its fighter jets are growing old, together with its French-made fleet of Mirage 2000s first obtained in 1997. One crashed into the ocean this week throughout a coaching train.
The air drive has repeatedly scrambled to see off Chinese language navy plane flying close to the island previously 5 years.
Taiwan’s authorities rejects China’s sovereignty claims.
