An additional budget of more than NT$42.8 billion (US$1.33 billion) has been appropriated for ammunition and pods compatible with F-16 jets, the Ministry of National Defense’s (MND) budget report for next year showed.
The ministry has drawn up a NT$247.2 billion special budget from 2020 to 2026 to procure 66 F-16V Block 70 jets from the US, with the first jet scheduled to be delivered by the end of the year, sources said.
The Executive Yuan’s 2019 review report showed that NT$246.7 billion from the special budget would be spent on the 66 F-16V fighter jets, avionics systems, software and hardware, and system development.
Photo: Screen grab from the US Air Force’s Web site
The remaining NT$500 million would be used for on-site visits, source inspection, project management, assembly training and delivery pickup, along with professional services, matching grants, customs declarations and transportation of the equipment overseas, it said.
The ministry’s budget statement for next year lists several multi-year procurement budgets for the equipment of F-16V jets, including NT$9.82 billion for innovated reconnaissance pods from 2020 to 2029 and NT$47.08 billion for long-range precision weapons from 2022 to 2030.
The long-range precision weapons include AGM-154 glide bombs, AGM-88 anti-radiation missiles and AGM-84H air-launched cruise missiles, it shows.
However, the statement included a budget for “the procurement of warfare support pods and ammunition of F-16V Block 70 jets,” which had not been publicized before.
The ammunition, auxiliary equipment and storage installations would be procured “to enable the maximum combat capacity of the 66 new fighter jets,” thereby enhancing their ability to safeguard Taiwan’s airspace and national security, it states.
The newly revealed budget totals NT$42.83 billion and spans from 2022 to 2030.
The exact models of the pods and ammunition are yet to be clarified, and whether AGM-158 long-range missiles — which Taiwan has wanted to purchase from the US for years — are included remains unknown.
The budget came into practice in 2022, but the ministry had approved its comprehensive procurement plan much earlier, on Aug. 18, 2021, with the latest revisions made on June 21 this year.
The ministry “plans to obtain the warfare support pods and ammunition of F-16V Block 70 jets via military procurement,” the budget statement says.
NT$1.93 billion from the budget has been spent over the past two years, while NT$1.5 billion has been prepared for next year, with NT$39.4 billion left for use from 2026 to 2030, it said.
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