Taiwan Purchases US F-16V Fighter Jets Equipped with Next-Generation Electronic Warfare Systems

As Chinese military aircraft repeatedly enter Taiwan's Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ), escalating military tensions between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait (China and Taiwan), next-generation electronic warfare equipment will be installed on the U.S.-made F-16V fighter jets purchased by Taiwan.

On May 20th, at the inauguration ceremony of Lai Ching-te as the new president held in Taipei, Taiwan, Taiwanese Air Force jets were seen flying.
[Photo by Reuters Yonhap News]

According to Taiwanese media such as Wang Bo and Liberty Times on the 4th, the U.S. Department of Defense announced on its website on the 2nd (local time) that the contract related to the F-16V Block 70/72 fighter jets for Foreign Military Sales (FMS) between the U.S. Department of Defense and Lockheed Martin has been revised and signed.

The U.S. Department of Defense stated that next-generation electronic warfare equipment for F-16V fighter jets for Taiwan, Bulgaria, and Slovakia will be produced at Lockheed Martin's factory in Fort Worth, Texas, and delivered by June 2028, adding that "the contract value is $520.4 million (approximately 719 billion KRW)."

The system dedicated to the F-16V includes a digital radar warning receiver that can connect with the latest AN/APG-83 AESA (Active Electronically Scanned Array), which helps secure pilot response time by providing warnings against a wider range of enemy threats, Taiwanese media reported.

The latest version of the F-16, the F-16V, can track more than 20 targets and can be equipped with various advanced air-to-air, air-to-ground, and air-to-ship weapons.

The Taiwan Air Force completed the upgrade project last year to convert its existing 140 F-16A/B aircraft to F-16V, and is simultaneously pursuing a plan to acquire 66 newly manufactured F-16Vs from the United States.

Taiwan expects that once all 66 F-16Vs are delivered, the total number of F-16V fighter jets will increase to around 200, enabling effective responses to Chinese military aircraft that frequently violate Taiwan's ADIZ and the Taiwan Strait.

Meanwhile, the Taiwan Ministry of National Defense reported that from 6 a.m. the previous day for 24 hours, it detected 30 Chinese military aircraft and 8 warships around Taiwan's airspace and waters, with 19 of the aircraft crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait and appearing in the northern, central, southwestern, and southeastern airspaces.