Taitung (Taiwan) (AFP) – Taiwan received its first two new generation F-16V fighter jets on Friday, as part of an agreement between the United States and the island, which seeks to strengthen its defense against China.

Published on: 02/10/2026 - 10:58 Modified on: 02/10/2026 - 11:26

These planes are part of an $8 billion contract for 66 planes, approved by Washington in 2019 during Donald Trump's first term.

The F-16V, a fourth-generation multirole aircraft, is a significantly upgraded version of Taiwan's aging F-16 A/B, which had already upgraded 141 aircraft by the end of 2023.

The arrival of these first two devices comes as Taiwan awaits the green light from Washington for another arms contract worth a record $14 billion.

Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te hailed "a major step in strengthening Taiwan's air defense capabilities" and thanked the United States for its "long-standing support."

The new F-16V will be "a valuable asset for the Taiwanese Air Force in its fight against the Chinese military threat," said Su Tzu-yun, a military expert at the Taipei-based National Defense and Security Research Institute.

On Friday, the two fighters landed at 12:00 p.m. (04:00 GMT) at Taitung air base, on the south coast, an AFP journalist noted.

Dozens of people, some with binoculars and telephoto cameras, gathered near the base's perimeter fence to witness their highly anticipated arrival.

Kimi Chi, a salesman from the central city of Taichung, traveled all night to photograph the planes landing in Taitung.

“In terms of technical capabilities, there will undoubtedly be an improvement,” the 37-year-old told AFP.

"But what we lack the most at the moment are the pilots. Of course, I hope the government can offer better additional compensation to these military pilots," he stressed.

Former military aviator, Eric Chan, 57, marveled at the improvements made to the F-16 over the past 30 years and also believed that the aircraft based in Taitung "will play a very important defensive role" against China.

“The threat of the CCP has always been present, so we absolutely must strengthen our defense capabilities,” said Mr. Chan, referring to the Communist Party in power in China.

“Negotiating asset”

China claims Taiwan, an island which has its own government, as an integral part of its territory and does not rule out using force to take control of it. In recent years, Beijing has increased its military pressure and regularly protests against American arms sales to Taiwan.

Taiwan remains heavily dependent on these American deliveries and is under pressure from Washington to devote more resources to its own security.

Taiwanese Defense Minister Wellington Koo previously said it would be "difficult" to deliver all the F-16Vs this year as planned by the contract, despite Lockheed Martin accelerating the production rate.

The first promised devices were initially scheduled to arrive in early September.

But according to local media, the planes had turned back towards Hawaii shortly after taking off towards Guam, without any official explanation being provided.

The United States has sold billions of dollars of weapons to Taipei, including fighter jets, missiles and warships, as part of its commitment to help the island maintain sufficient self-defense capacity.

The signing of the still pending $14 billion contract was postponed earlier this year by Donald Trump.

Experts say it is unlikely to be approved before the G20 summit in the United States in December, where Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Donald Trump are due to meet for the fourth time this year.

A US official recently indicated that it was becoming increasingly likely that this contract - including the Patriot air defense system - would be split into several smaller lots in order to soften China's reaction.

In May, Donald Trump called this contract a "very good negotiating asset" with China, raising fears that Taiwan's security would take second place.

© 2026 AFP

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