Taiwan (AFP) - Taiwan received its first two American-made F-16V fighter jets on Friday, as part of the island's efforts to enhance its military capabilities with the aim of deterring any possible Chinese attack.

Published on: 02/10/2026 - 12:50 Last updated: 02/10/2026 - 15:56

These fighters are part of an $8 billion deal to purchase 66 fighters of the same type, approved during the first term of US President Donald Trump, and are scheduled to be delivered this year.

The delivery of the planes comes as Taiwan awaits Washington's approval for a separate $14 billion arms package that Trump had frozen following Chinese objections.

China considers Taiwan part of its territory and has threatened to use force to control it, and Beijing also opposes US arms sales to the island.

Two F-16V fighters, manufactured by the American company Lockheed Martin, landed at a Taiwanese Air Force base in Taitung on the southeastern coast of the island at noon local time (04:00 GMT).

Taiwan President Lai Ching-te praised what he considered a "milestone in strengthening Taiwan's air defense capabilities," thanking the United States for its "long-standing continuous support."

The two fighters were expected to arrive in early September, after stopping in Hawaii and Guam to refuel.

Local media reported that the two planes returned to Hawaii shortly after taking off on their way to Guam, without any official explanation being issued.

Dozens of local residents, some equipped with binoculars and long-lens cameras, gathered near the fence surrounding the air base on Friday to watch the eagerly awaited arrival of the planes.

Kimi Chi, a sales employee from the city of Taichung in central Taiwan, traveled throughout the night to be able to take pictures of the two fighters as they landed in Taitung.

He was not bothered by the long wait, saying that "good things take time."

"In terms of technical capabilities, there will definitely be an improvement," Chi, 37, told AFP.

He added, "But what we actually lack most at the moment are pilots. I hope, of course, that the government will provide additional and better allowances for these military pilots."

Eric Chan (57 years old), a former member of the Air Force, expressed his admiration for the development witnessed by the F-16 fighters over the past three decades, and said that the fighters that will be stationed in Taitung “will play a very important defensive role” against China.

"The threat from the Chinese Communist Party is always there, so we definitely need to strengthen our defense capabilities," Chan told AFP.

The F-16V is a fourth-generation multi-role fighter, and it is a significantly improved version of the old F-16A/B fighters owned by Taiwan.

Su Tzu-yun, a military expert at the National Defense and Security Research Institute in Taipei, said that the F-16V fighters, equipped with more advanced combat, monitoring and engine capabilities, “will constitute an important addition to the Taiwanese Air Force in the face of the Chinese military threat.”

"negotiating paper"

The United States is Taiwan's most important security supporter and its largest arms supplier.

But bottlenecks in scientific supply chains have slowed the delivery of vital weapons.

Taiwanese Defense Minister Wellington Kuo said earlier that delivering all F-16V fighters during the current year would be a "difficult matter," despite Lockheed Martin increasing the pace of production.

Koo said on Friday that more fighters would be delivered to Taiwan "before the end of the year," without specifying their number.

He added, "At the present time, I believe that the aircraft are being manufactured gradually on production lines, and there are also aircraft that have passed tests," noting that Taiwan will continue to coordinate with the American side regarding the date of their arrival.

Trump had postponed approval of the record arms deal that Taipei intends to buy worth $14 billion, describing it in May as a “very good negotiating card” in dealing with China, which raised fears that Taiwan’s security could be compromised.

Experts believe that approval of the deal is unlikely before the G20 summit scheduled in the United States in December, when Chinese President Xi Jinping and Trump are expected to meet for the fourth time this year.

A US official recently said that it is increasingly likely that the $14 billion arms deal, which includes the Patriot air defense system, will be divided into smaller packages with the aim of reducing the size of any potential response from China.

© 2026 AFP

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