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International Center / Full Report
Although sharing airplanes frequently disturbed Taiwan, foreign media reported that former US Under Secretary of Defense Stephen Bryen believed that although the United States sent high-level cabinet members to visit Taiwan for the first time after the severing diplomatic ties was a positive move, Taiwan still needs the United States to make changes. A great promise, and the key element of the promise may be to provide F-35 stealth fighters to Taiwan.
▲ Former US Under Secretary of Defense Stephen Bryen advocated for the loan of stealth F-35 fighter jets to Taiwan. (Image / Obtained from Twitter)
According to a recent report by the American outlet Newsweek, Brian noted that the current restrictions on the sale of these fighter jets to Taiwan by the United States are partly due to concerns about the flight capabilities of the Taiwan Air Force and partly to concerns about the Chinese government’s response. ; And these concerns can be trained by the United States to train Taiwanese pilots and put the F-35 on hold, and then transfer it to Taiwan after an emergency. On the political side, the solution may be to allow the United States to have a reserve force of F-35s and be subordinate to it. It can be leased to Taiwan because the force will have the ability to deal with mainland China. However, Stephen Bryen also pointed out that if the United States makes this decision, it will test the courage of the United States and Taiwan, but if such an American plan is proposed, it will also help stabilize the security of East Asia.
According to the report, Taiwan does not currently have a stealth aircraft. Taipei currently has 140 vintage F-16s undergoing an upgrade. In the future, 66 more modern F-16V (Viper) jets will be acquired, with even more radar features. little. But the F-16V won’t be delivered until around 2026, which also means Taiwan will have to rely on outdated jets for at least the next five years. If the plan is completed as originally scheduled, Taiwan will have 50 upgraded F-16s by the end of this year.
▲ F-35 fighters are primarily used for close support, target bombardment, air defense interception, and other tasks. (Photo / Obtained from YouTube Military Technology)
F-35 “Lightning II” (Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II) This type of aircraft is mainly used for close support, target bombardment, air defense interception and other tasks, and has developed three main derivative versions, including the use traditional runway take-off and landing stages. The F-35A, the F-35B short-range vertical take-off and landing type aircraft, and the F-35C as an aircraft carrier. The report stated that the F-35B, a stealth aircraft capable of short-distance supersonic take-off and vertical landing, is well suited for Taiwan and has sufficient island range of protection. The United States Marine Corps already owns the F-35B based in Iwakuni, Japan, and has an island-hopping strategy that includes Okinawa. If there is a conflict, support and future interoperability with Taiwan will become an important option. In 2018, China proposed to the United States to buy the F-35B.
