The US has assembled the first of the 66 Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Block 70 airframes ordered by Taiwan, Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) said yesterday.
Koo made the remarks on the sidelines of a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee on damage to undersea Internet cables reportedly inflicted by a Chinese ship.
Photo courtesy of the US Air Force
Asked to comment on the US delivery of arms to Taiwan, Koo said that aircraft from the order had been assembled and the two nations are working together to facilitate the process.
The ministry has dispatched a team to the US and is holding monthly teleconference calls to ensure the jets would obtain the relevant certifications in two months, he said.
The ministry was heartened by comments from US president-elect Donald Trump’s presumptive national security adviser Mike Waltz that the incoming administration is committed to the speedy delivery of arms to Taiwan, he added.
The delivery of the long-awaited multiple-role fighters has been repeatedly delayed by supply chain woes that pushed the expected delivery date from the fourth quarter of last year to March this year.
Koo in October last year said 19 of the F-16C/D Block 70 jets slated to be delivered to Taiwan were in the pipeline and all 66 are expected to be delivered by next year.
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