Taiwan Receives First New F-16V Jets Amid China Threat Concerns

Taiwan has taken delivery of its first two new F-16V Block 70 fighter jets from the United States, a symbolic step in a long-running effort to strengthen air defences against China. The Lockheed Martin aircraft touched down at midday local time Friday at Chihhang Air Base near Taitung on the island’s east coast after flying via Hawaii and Guam, Al Jazeera and DW reported.

The jets are the first of 66 F-16Vs ordered under an $8 billion sale approved during Donald Trump’s first presidential term in 2019. Deliveries were delayed for months. Al Jazeera cited repeated Chinese requests that Washington stop arming Taiwan; DW said software issues also contributed to the wait. The arrival came a week after Trump hosted Chinese President Xi Jinping in Washington.

More jets promised this year

Defence Minister Wellington Koo said more aircraft would follow. “Of course we won’t only have delivered these two [F-16Vs] by the end of the year,” he told reporters, according to both outlets. He said planes were moving through the production line and some had already passed tests, without giving a full delivery schedule.

Once the full batch arrives, Taiwan’s air force is expected to operate more than 200 F-16Vs, DW reported. The upgraded jets carry advanced avionics, weapons and radar systems designed to counter Chinese fighters, including the J-20 stealth aircraft. Washington has not agreed to sell Taiwan its most advanced fighters, such as the F-22 or F-35, both outlets noted.

Unease over US commitment

The delivery lands amid anxiety in Taipei about whether the Trump administration will keep arming the island. Trump said in May, after meeting Xi in Beijing, that he was holding out on a new $14 billion package, calling it a negotiating chip, DW reported. He did approve an $11 billion package in December 2025, Al Jazeera said.

The United States is bound by law to help Taiwan defend itself but has no formal diplomatic relations with Taipei. A State Department spokesperson said policy had not changed: “We continue standing with friends and allies across the Indo-Pacific to advance our shared prosperity, security, and values — that includes Taiwan,” the spokesperson said when asked about the delivery, according to Al Jazeera and DW.

Beijing claims the democratically governed island as its territory and has not publicly commented on Friday’s arrival, DW said. Koo argued that “China’s intention to annex Taiwan by force has never changed.” US officials told Reuters, as cited by DW, that a Chinese invasion before 2028 is now seen as increasingly unlikely in Washington — an assessment that does not remove day-to-day pressure on Taiwan’s air force, which scrambles almost daily in response to Chinese flights.

Local reaction at the fence

Dozens of residents gathered near the air-base perimeter with binoculars and cameras to watch the landing, AFP reported via DW. Eric Chan, a 57-year-old former air force service member, said the threat from the Chinese Communist Party “has always been there” and that Taiwan “definitely need[s] to strengthen our defense capabilities.” Salesman Kimi Chi, 37, who travelled overnight from Taichung, said hardware would improve but argued that Taiwan most lacks pilots and better allowances for them.

For Taipei, Friday’s two jets are both a practical boost and a political signal. Completing the 66-plane order will take years; sustaining US arms commitments through shifting great-power talks may prove harder still. Officials say the immediate priority is getting more Block 70s onto Taiwanese runways before the end of 2026 while keeping the existing F-16 fleet combat-ready against a neighbour that continues to rehearse pressure from the air.

Analysts note that two jets alone will not shift the military balance across the Taiwan Strait, but the optics of a completed first delivery matter in Taipei and Beijing alike after months of delay and intense diplomacy between Washington and China.