Taipei [Taiwan], March 30 (HBTV): Taiwan on Friday received the first of its long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets from the United States during a delivery ceremony at Lockheed Martin’s factory in Greenville, South Carolina, Taipei Times reported on Sunday.

According to Taipei Times, Taiwan’s Deputy Minister of National Defence Po Horng-huei and Representative to the US Alexander Yui attended the event.

US Representative William Timmons expressed pride in supporting Taiwan’s air defence capabilities, sharing a photo of the ceremony on X. ‘We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defence capabilities,’ he said, as quoted by Taipei Times.

The F-16C/D Block 70 jets delivered to Taiwan have capabilities similar to the F-16Vs after upgrades, Taipei Times reported. The jets will be assigned to Taiwan’s newly formed 7th Tactical Fighter Wing, which will focus on defending the island’s eastern region.

In January, Taiwanese President William Lai stated that two of the three tactical groups in the wing had already been staffed and were awaiting the jets' arrival.

According to Taipei Times, the F-16C/D Block 70 is expected to be the final version of Lockheed Martin’s F-16, as the US and its allies transition to F-35 stealth fighters.

Key features of the F-16C/D Block 70 jets include AN/APG-83 active electronically scanned arrays, AN/ALQ-254(V)1 all-digital electronic warfare suites, conformal fuel tanks, and upgraded mission computers, cockpits, and interface systems. The aircraft are capable of firing AIM-120 and AIM-9 air-to-air missiles and various ground attack munitions, including anti-radiation missiles, GPS-guided bombs, and AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon glide bombs, which Taiwan recently acquired.

Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defence expressed gratitude to US government agencies for facilitating the delivery and highlighted Washington’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act and the ‘six assurances.’

These assurances, set in 1982, ensure that the US will not set a date to end arms sales to Taiwan or consult with China on such sales.

The Ministry also stated that it is working with the US to ensure the jets are delivered on time, addressing concerns over production delays. According to Taipei Times, citing defence expert Mei Fu-hsing, while the jets are expected to be equipped with the advanced AN/ALQ-254(V)1 electronic warfare suite, the first jet delivered may lack this feature. Taiwan may need to retrofit the aircraft with the older ALQ-184(V) electronic warfare system as a substitute.

(ANI)