By J. Michael Cole
After years of frustrating efforts to acquire 66 F-16C/D aircraft from the United States, it’s now starting to look like Taiwan might finally get what it wants, with the Obama administration promising that it would give “serious consideration” to the matter, while the U.S. House of Representatives last week passed an amendment to the U.S. 2013 National Defense Authorization Act ordering the sale.
Defense analysts almost unanimously agree that Taiwan needs the new aircraft, not only because of their modern capabilities, but also for numerical reasons, as Taiwan’s Air Force will soon start retiring ageing F-5 and Mirage 2000 aircraft, while grounding others, such as the F-CK-1 “Ching Kuo” Indigenous Defense Fighter, for mid-life upgrades. The unexpected developments with regards to the F-16C/D occur as the Taiwanese military is in the process of evaluating the nuts and bolts of a U.S. $5.2 billion upgrade package for its 145 F-16A/Bs, which it acquired in the early 1990s, and looks for ways to make the program fit the $3.7 billion Taipei has allocated for the retrofits.
So at long last, the endeavors of two administrations could be close to fruition, and Taiwan might finally be within reach of getting both the upgrades and procuring the new F-16C/Ds.
But there’s a catch:
Read the full story at The Diplomat
But there’s a catch:
Read the full story at The Diplomat