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Of the 66 F-16V fighter jets Taiwan ordered from the United States, the first two flew to Taitung Air Force Zhihang Base on Friday (October 2). This is the first time that Taiwan has purchased new fighter jets since the 1990s, and it is also the first time that this arms sale, which has been delayed for many years, has actually been implemented.
The purchases, approved in 2019 during Donald Trump’s first presidential term, were worth a total of NT$247.2 billion (approximately US$7.76 billion). The original delivery schedule has been repeatedly postponed, and now the first batch of fighter jets has arrived in Taiwan just days before Chinese President Xi Jinping ends his visit to the United States, drawing much attention to the political implications of this delivery.
It is worth noting that the two fighter jets left the United States as early as August 17 and arrived at Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam in Hawaii on August 21. They were originally expected to fly to Taiwan a few days later, but ended up staying there for nearly six weeks. Neither Taiwan nor the United States has publicly explained the reason for the delay.
At the same time, another US$14 billion arms sales plan to Taiwan, which has passed informal review by the US Congress, is still waiting for Trump’s approval. Discussions surrounding the delay in arms sales, the shelving of new projects and Taiwan's self-defense capabilities are heating up again with the arrival of the first batch of F-16Vs in Taiwan.
Timing: After the "Special Training Session"
The first two fighter jets arrived in Taiwan just after Xi Jinping concluded his visit to the United States. BBC Chinese previously reported that the Taiwan issue is an important issue on the negotiation table of this "Special Xi Meeting" and has been widely discussed by all walks of life before Xi Jinping's departure.
Japan's Kyodo News Agency reported on September 12 that Beijing had warned that if Washington approved a new round of tens of billions of dollars in arms sales to Taiwan before the talks, China might cancel its visit to the United States. China also directly reiterated its consistent opposition to U.S. arms sales to Taiwan; Trump only expressed "not worried" about this.
Some analysts pointed out that this kind of warning is no longer a verbal statement, but has become an actual bargaining chip and even part of the transaction leverage.
The South China Morning Post quoted sources as saying that Beijing privately urged Washington not to approve new arms sales during the visit. The U.S. State Department emphasized that the overall U.S. policy toward Taiwan has not changed after the Sino-U.S. talks.
End of Hot Reading
The above-mentioned reports reflect that the delivery of the two fighter jets was delayed after the "Trump-Xi meeting", reflecting the impact of the game between China and the United States. On the other hand, the general interpretation from Taiwan is that the United States has not given up its security commitment to Taiwan while improving relations with China.
Inside Taiwan: Affirm the significance of defense and ask about compensation plan
Taiwan President Lai Ching-te said in a Facebook post that the arrival of the first batch of fighter jets "is an important milestone in strengthening Taiwan's air defense capabilities, and also demonstrates Taiwan's determination to strengthen self-defense and maintain peace with strength." He also thanked the United States for its long-term support in improving Taiwan's self-defense capabilities.
Defense Minister Gu Lixiong made it clear during an interview that "of course we will not only deliver these two aircraft before the end of the year," saying that the delivery process of the subsequent 64 aircraft will continue to be coordinated with the United States.
There have been discussions within Taiwan as to whether compensation should be compensated for delayed delivery of orders. Democratic Progressive Party legislator Wang Dingyu said the day before the fighter jets arrived in Taiwan that Taiwan has repeatedly asked the United States to propose compensation plans for delays in delivery, such as increasing the number of spare parts or extending the warranty period.
The Kuomintang has not publicly responded to the arrival of fighter jets in Taiwan. Former People's Party Chairman Ko Wenzhe told the media that although he supported defense spending, arms purchases should be "rational, pragmatic and scientific" and questioned "when the other 64 aircraft will come" and "whether money should be deducted" after the delivery was obviously delayed.
This dissatisfaction is not exclusive to the F-16V. According to statistics from Taiwan Security Monitor, a U.S. think tank that has long tracked the progress of arms sales to Taiwan, as of June 2026, the U.S. has notified Congress but has not completed delivery of arms sales projects to Taiwan totaling approximately US$29.7 billion, including F-16V fighter jets, MQ-9B drones, Harpoon anti-ship missiles, etc. The large scale of the arms sales backlog is the main reason why Taiwan's political circles and civilians are increasingly concerned about delayed deliveries.
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Beijing: Signed article in state media criticizes 'political performances'
As of now, the Chinese government has not officially responded to the arrival of the two F-16Vs in Taiwan. However, the state media Global Times published an opinion piece signed by "Haifeng" on Saturday, describing this as a delivery that was "so late, so expensive, and so shrinking" and was packaged by the Democratic Progressive Party authorities as a major achievement worthy of celebration.
The article believes that this matter has nothing to do with "defence" and is just a "political performance", and claims that Taiwan has "suffered a dumb loss" in the arms purchase transaction.
The article also questioned the delay in delivery: "Is it a technical problem, a supply chain problem, or other reasons? Taiwanese society is not clear."
The article also stated, "As China and the United States stand at a new starting point in building a constructive strategic and stable relationship, the rising 'abandonment of Taiwan' and 'suspiciousness of the United States' theories on the island have made the DPP feel even more panicked, making it even more urgent to find cover-ups."
What do two F-16Vs mean to the Taiwan Air Force?
Compared with earlier models, the F-16V is equipped with the Northrop Grumman APG-83 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar and upgraded avionics system, with stronger target detection and tracking capabilities. The new aircraft adopts a longer-life airframe design and is equipped with conformal fuel tanks to increase fuel capacity without occupying under-wing weapon hardpoints.
The Taiwan Air Force currently has a main combat fleet of about 320 aircraft, including 140 upgraded F-16Vs, 129 homemade Ching-Kuo fighters, and about 50 Mirage 2000-5 fighters, most of which have been in service since the 1990s. With the successive delivery of 66 new F-16Vs, the F-16 series will gradually become the absolute main force of the Taiwan Air Force.
Taiwan has previously completed upgrading its older F-16A/B fleet to the F-16V configuration. For Taiwan, the significance of the new aircraft is mainly to supplement the size of the fleet, extend the service life, and improve the readiness rate, rather than simply a jump in combat power.
Aging aircraft also brings safety risks. Earlier this year, an F-16 of the Taiwan Air Force crashed during a routine training. It plummeted nearly 6,000 feet in one minute. The pilot on board reported "space disorientation" and then lost contact. Since Taiwan purchased F-16s in the 1990s, there have been a total of 11 crashes, resulting in the death or disappearance of 11 pilots, which has triggered widespread discussion among Taiwanese people about the status of Air Force fighter aircraft.
On the other hand, the Taiwan Air Force has frequently carried out monitoring and response missions against PLA military aircraft in recent years. Reuters reported that Taiwan fighter jets need to take off almost every day to monitor the activities of Chinese military aircraft. Song Wenxi, former director of the Taiwan Air Force Combat Control Center, said that if long-term accompanying flight monitoring missions become the norm, it may affect the quality of flight training.
New arms purchase plan: from 40 billion to 24.8 billion, still stuck in the White House
The two F-16Vs delivered this time are orders approved during the Tsai Ing-wen administration and Trump's first term. They were implemented after multiple delays. During Lai Qingde's tenure, a new arms purchase case has also been put on the agenda.
The case, originally proposed in November last year with a scale of US$40 billion over eight years, sparked fierce debate in Taiwan's political circles, but was passed in August this year after being reduced to US$24.8 billion by the opposition-led Legislative Yuan.
It is worth noting that the Russia-Ukraine war prompted Taiwan to significantly adjust its defense concept. In response to the new characteristics of the battlefield, the Taiwanese government decided to accelerate the development of the drone industry. It not only set up a drone park in Chiayi, invested in local manufacturers to mass-produce various models, but also cooperated with the United States, emphasizing the asymmetric combat advantages of low cost, high mobility, and mass production, with the goal of establishing a drone supply chain that excludes mainland China.
The original proposal of the Lai Ching-tak government in November last year covered more than 200,000 drones of various types, more than 1,000 unmanned surface vehicles (USV), and US-made unmanned systems.
However, in the Legislative Yuan, which is dominated by Toyoda and Ono, this arms purchase case was significantly reduced. After Taiwan passed the budget, the project was still stuck on Trump's desk due to the ongoing dispute between China and the United States and has not yet been released.
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