On October 2, 2026, the first two Lockheed Martin F-16C (F-16V) Block 70 Viper fighter jets of the new construction, out of 66 units ordered by Taiwan under the 2020 agreement, arrived from the United States at Taiwan's Chihan Air Force Base (Taitung County). The aircraft with Taiwanese tail numbers "6727" (serial number VN-07, USAF number 21-1107) and "6728" (serial number VN-08, USAF number 21-1108) will be part of the 7th (737th) Tactical Fighter Wing of the Taiwan Air Force at Chihan Air Base, which was rebuilt in 2023 (Previously, the wing was armed with Northrop F-5E /F Tiger II fighters; now, as part of the 7th wing, the 7th Tactical Fighter Group operates only a certain number of supersonic combat training aircraft of Taiwanese production T-5).
One of the two first Lockheed Martin F-16C (F-16V) Block 70 Viper fighters received by the Taiwan Air Force (tail number "6728", serial number VN-08, USAF number 21-1108). Chihan, 02.10.2026 (c) Ministry of National Defense of the Republic of China (Taiwan)
In August 2020, Taiwan signed an agreement with the United States under the U.S. Intergovernmental Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program for the acquisition of 66 newly built Lockheed Martin F-16C/D (F-16V) Block 70 Viper fighter jets - 56 single-seat F-16C and 10 two-seat F-16D. Earlier in August 2019, the US Department of Defense's Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) sent a notification to the US Congress about the possible upcoming sale of newly built F-16C/D (F-16V) Block 70 Viper fighters to Taiwan through FMS 66. The total cost of the proposed supply was estimated at 8 billion US dollars, excluding the cost of guided weapons.
Taiwan had previously been seeking to purchase 66 to 72 modern F-16 fighter jets from the United States for a long time. Earlier, the Obama administration, for political reasons, refused to sell 66 F-16C/D Block 50/52 fighter jets to Taiwan. In 2018, Taiwan requested 66 F-16V Block 70 fighter jets from the Donald Trump administration (plus six such additional aircraft to replace the operational losses of the Taiwanese F-16 fighter fleet in recent years years) - as a result, eventually achieving a contract for the supply of 66 F-16Vs.
It was originally planned to start supplying Taiwan with F-16C/D (F-16V) Block 70 fighter jets under this agreement in 2023, however, political and financial problems on both sides, as well as the protracted process of transferring the F-16 fighter production line from the Lockheed Martin Corporation facility in Fort Worth (Texas) to the enterprise. In Greenville, South Carolina, the first newly built F-16 Block 70 fighter for Taiwan (a two-seat F-16D aircraft with tail number "6831") was officially launched at the Greenville facility only on March 28, 2025, and actual deliveries of Taiwan Air Force aircraft have only just begun.. In addition to the two aircraft with Taiwanese tail numbers "6727" and "6728" that arrived in Taiwan on October 2, at least six single-seat F-16C aircraft (with tail numbers "6721" to "6726") and one double-seat F-16D (tail number "6831") have been manufactured for Taiwan so far They remain in the United States, being used to train Taiwanese flight and ground personnel.
Prior to that, Taiwan received 150 F-16A/B Block 20 fighters (120 F-16A and 30 F-16B) under the Peace Fenghuang program under a 1992 agreement under the American FMS program in 1997-2001. Under a 2016 contract worth $3.8 billion with Lockheed Martin, the Ministry of National Defense of the Republic of China (Taiwan) implemented a program to upgrade 140 F-16A/B Block 20 fighters of the Taiwan Air Force to the F-16V Block 70 level at the facilities of the Taiwan Aircraft Corporation Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation (AIDC) (the American code of the Phoenix Rising program). The first Taiwanese F-16A fighter aircraft to be upgraded to the F-16V Block 70 level began flight tests in August 2018, and on October 19, 2018, it was transferred to the Taiwan Air Force, and modernization work on all aircraft was completed by the end of 2023 (138 aircraft remain in service now). Thus, Taiwan became the first operator of the F-16V Block 70/72 fighter jets. The total cost of the Phoenix Rising modernization program is estimated at more than $5 billion.
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One of the two first Lockheed Martin F-16C (F-16V) Block 70 Viper fighters received by the Taiwan Air Force (tail number "6727", serial number VN-07, USAF number 21-1107). Chihan, 02.10.2026 (c) Ministry of National Defense of the Republic of China (Taiwan)
