Taiwan Receives First F-16 Block 70 Fighters After Years of Delay

Taiwan has received the first two of its new F-16 Block 70 fighters, ending a delivery delay of roughly three years. The aircraft, serial numbers 6727 and 6728, landed at Chihhang Air Base near Taitung in eastern Taiwan on 2 October 2026.

First new fighters since 1997

FlightGlobal reports that the arrival is the first time brand-new fighters have reached Taiwan since 1997. The jets are the opening batch of 66 F-16 Block 70 aircraft ordered through a US sale approved in 2019 and valued at about $8 billion. They flew to Taiwan via Hawaii and Guam, and Taiwan’s defence ministry confirmed their arrival.

President Lai Ching-te thanked Washington, while Defence Minister Wellington Koo said more aircraft would follow soon without giving dates.

Why the jets were late

Deliveries were originally scheduled for 2023. Breaking Defense attributes the slip to several causes: Lockheed Martin’s move of F-16 production from Fort Worth, Texas, to Greenville, South Carolina; supply-chain shortages in 2021 that cost another year; and weather holds in Hawaii and Guam during the September ferry flights. Defense News adds that software problems delayed the handover by several months.

What the Block 70 adds

The Block 70 is the most advanced production F-16. Taiwan’s aircraft carry the AN/APG-83 active electronically scanned array radar and conformal fuel tanks for extra range, and they are powered by General Electric F110 engines. That differs from Taiwan’s existing fleet of about 140 F-16A/B Block 20 aircraft, which use Pratt & Whitney F100 engines. Operating two engine types will have logistics implications for the Republic of China Air Force.

The new jets will go to the 7th Tactical Fighter Wing, replacing retired F-5 Tiger II aircraft. Defense News notes that the aircraft’s avionics, weapons and radar are meant to help counter China’s air force, including its stealthy J-20 fighters. The United States has declined to supply Taiwan with more advanced types such as the F-22 or F-35.

Political backdrop

Defense News points out that the delivery came a week after President Donald Trump met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Washington, at a time when some in Taiwan question how firmly the US administration will back arms transfers to the island. The timing makes the arrival of the jets as much a political signal as a military one.

Even at full delivery the 66 Block 70s represent a modest force against the scale of China’s air power, but they will give Taiwan a modern, networked fighter with beyond-visual-range capability and a newer radar than any F-16 it currently flies. The next questions are how quickly the remaining 64 aircraft arrive and how fast the air force can train crews and maintainers on a mixed F-16 fleet.