Photographer: SeongJoon Cho / Bloomberg
Photographer: SeongJoon Cho / Bloomberg
Taiwan has formally signed an agreement to buy 66 of the latest F-16 jets model built by Lockheed Martin Corp., a movement that is likely to further strain tensions between the US and China.
Taiwan’s acquisition of the F-16s marks the first sale of advanced fighter jets to the island since President George HW Bush announced approval for 150 F-16s in 1992. A $ 62 billion figure announced Friday by the Pentagon is the upper limit of various contracts if all potential foreign customers place their maximum desired number over the decade.
The move is likely to be condemned by Beijing, even though the US first signaled plans to approve the sale a year ago in an informal notification to Congress and it could take years before the jets are delivered.
The announcement said work on the 90 jets that could potentially be sold under the announcement from Friday to late 2026 would be completed.
Company officials have previously said they are projecting a brand for as many as 400 of the new F-16s.
US Backs F-16 Sale to Taiwan, sign warning from China
When the planned sale was announced in August last year, a spokeswoman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry told reporters that “U.S. arms sales to Taiwan seem to be in principle one China struggle.”
The spokeswoman, Hua Chunying, said at the time that her government was urging the US to “remember” to sell “the” fighter jets to Taiwan and to stop arms sales to, and military contact with, Taiwan. Otherwise, the Chinese side will certainly make strong reactions, and the US will have to bear all the consequences. ”
Since then, ties with the US have only progressed, with the two nations in a series of disputes, ranging from the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic to 5G technology and Beijing’s tightening grip on Hong Kong.
In addition to Taiwan, Morocco is buying 24 F-16s jets in the first tranche of 90 aircraft that the Pentagon said were valued at $ 4.9 billion. The Pentagon’s announcement did not mention Taiwan or Morocco, but they were identified in an earlier statement and were confirmed Friday by a person familiar with the contract.
The new F-16s will be assembled at the new Lockheed facility in Greenville, South Carolina, which opened in April 2019. The contracting mechanism used by the Pentagon “will facilitate faster contract pricing and greater price clarity for our foreign military partners. , “Brian Brackens, an Air Force spokesman, said in a statement to Bloomberg News before the contract was announced.
“Taiwan and Morocco will be the first two partners to use this contract,” Brackens said.
The Taiwan F-16s will be equipped with a topline fire control radar manufactured by Northrop Grumman Corp. Calling the APG-83, it would allow precision-guided ammunition to be fired at greater distances, an official familiar with the details said.
Lockheed Chief Financial Officer Kenneth Possenriede told analysts in a July 21 call that the company expected a “fairly large” F-16 order “that should finally be announced this quarter” in which “Taiwan is the customer.”
The additional 90 F-16s would add to the current backlog of 38 Lockheed aircraft.
(Adds radar system details in third to last paragraph.)
.
