- By Fang Wei-li / Staff reporter
The second flight of F-16V jets from the US is expected to arrive at Chihhang Air Base in Taitung today.
Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) on Friday said that the new fighters would arrive in Taiwan soon.
The Air Force Command yesterday issued a media notice for a filming session scheduled for today, effectively confirming the arrival.
A Lockheed Martin F-16V jet lands at Chihhang Air Base in Taitung on Oct. 2.Photo: Ann Wang, Reuters
It is the second part of an order for 66 F-16Vs to arrive in Taiwan following the delivery of the first two aircraft last month.
Three jets are expected this time, sources said.
The three aircraft in the latest batch are single-seat models, bearing military serial numbers 6729, 6731 and 6732, the sources said.
The fighter jets rolled off a production line at Lockheed Martin’s plant in Greenville, South Carolina, before being transferred to Fort Worth, Texas. They took off on Wednesday accompanied by aerial refueling tankers and flew to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii for inspection before continuing their journey to Taiwan, the sources said.
The first batch — two F-16Vs numbered 6727 and 6728 — departed Texas on Aug. 17. After arriving in Hawaii, they were delayed for nearly a month and a half due to system inspections and scheduling arrangements for refueling planes.
Once they were cleared to depart, the journey to Taiwan took about two days.
The first two jets left Hawaii on Oct. 1, stopping in Guam before taking off again the following morning. After a flight of about four hours, they landed at Chihhang Air Base at about noon.
The new F-16Vs are equipped with conformal fuel tanks mounted along the upper fuselage and can carry three additional external fuel tanks during ferry flights, significantly increasing their range.
Aviation enthusiasts said that the jets might require 12 to 15 aerial refueling operations for the journey from the US mainland.
The air force originally planned to receive all 66 aircraft by the end of this year.
However, the delivery schedule is behind due to production line relocation and restart operations at Lockheed Martin, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and supply chain disruptions.