TAITUNG, Taiwan — Taiwan’s first two new F-16V Block 70 fighter jets landed Friday at Chihhang Air Base in Taitung, the island’s Air Force Command said, beginning deliveries on a U.S. order placed in 2019.
The single-seat jets touched down at noon local time (0400 GMT) after flying through Hawaii and Guam, according to Reuters.
The air force will now carry out acceptance procedures and conversion training, then work through other preparations so the jets gradually become combat-ready, the command said in a report by Taiwan’s Military News Agency.
To prepare for the aircraft, the air force formed the 7th Tactical Fighter Wing on Dec. 1, 2023. The wing is building its combat units in three phases and has sent aircrew and maintenance personnel to the U.S. in groups for conversion training. Those personnel will handle acceptance of the jets as more arrive, according to the command.
Another 63 F-16 Block 70s are on U.S. production lines, some already at the delivery stage, the command said. Reuters reported that the full order covers 66 jets, and the command’s figures did not account for the remaining aircraft. Ferry flights to Taiwan will follow milestones set in coordination with the U.S. program office.
Defense Minister Wellington Koo told reporters at parliament in Taipei, shortly before the landing, that more of the jets would arrive soon. He did not say when. “Of course we won’t only have delivered these two by year-end,” he said.
Taipei has repeatedly complained about delays to weapons it ordered from the U.S. Reuters linked the F-16V setbacks in part to software problems. The Associated Press cited production and supply chain issues.
The U.S. approved the $8 billion sale of the Lockheed Martin jets in 2019. According to Reuters, the full order would lift Taiwan’s F-16 fleet above 200 aircraft. An upgrade of the island’s existing F-16s was finished in 2023.
The new aircraft carry improved avionics, radar and weapons meant to help counter China’s air force, including its J-20 stealth fighters, Reuters reported. Washington has not agreed to sell Taiwan more advanced fighters such as the F-22 or F-35.
The two jets are the first delivery from a backlog of U.S. arms orders to Taiwan worth almost $30 billion. The Taiwan Security Monitor at George Mason University estimates that the F-16Vs make up $8 billion of that total, or roughly 25%.
China claims the self-governed island as its own territory. Chinese warplanes and ships head toward Taiwan almost daily, according to the AP, and Taiwan’s air force scrambles jets nearly every day in response.
“China’s intention to annex Taiwan by force has never changed.”
People familiar with U.S. thinking told Reuters that American officials see a Chinese invasion before 2028 as increasingly unlikely. Taiwan’s next presidential election is in early 2028.
Beijing has repeatedly urged Washington to stop selling weapons to Taiwan, and Xi Jinping has raised the issue with President Donald Trump directly, the AP reported. China’s foreign ministry did not respond to a Reuters request for comment on the delivery.
The jets arrived almost exactly a week after Trump and Xi met in Washington. In May, following talks with Xi in Beijing, Trump said he was holding a new $14 billion arms package for Taiwan in abeyance. He had approved an $11 billion package in December 2025.
According to Reuters, the delay has fueled concern in Taiwan about the Trump administration’s commitment to arming the island, though Washington says its policy has not changed. U.S. law requires Washington to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself, even without formal diplomatic ties.
“We continue standing with friends and allies across the Indo-Pacific to advance our shared prosperity, security, and values — that includes Taiwan,” a State Department spokesperson said when asked about the jets.
Taiwan is still waiting for the $14 billion package to be approved. On Tuesday, Taiwan’s defense minister said the island remains in continuous discussions with the U.S. about weapons sales, the AP reported.
