Taiwan Receives Second Batch of F-16 Block 70 Fighters, Five of 66 Now Delivered

Taiwan has received its second batch of F-16 Block 70 fighters. Three jets landed at Chihhang Air Base in Taitung, in the island’s south-east, on Sunday 8 November 2026, the Republic of China Air Force Command Headquarters said in a statement published by the Ministry of National Defense. The delivery brings the number of new-build Block 70s in Taiwan to five, out of 66 ordered from the United States.

What the air force said

According to the statement, the three aircraft followed the first two jets that flew in during October. With help from the US programme office and other agencies, it said, “a stable production and delivery process” is now in place. The air force will move on to unit induction training and build up the aircraft’s initial operational capability step by step. It did not give a date for that milestone or say when the next batch will arrive.

The state-run Central News Agency (CNA), citing the air force, identified the jets as 6729, 6731 and 6732. Focus Taiwan reported that they touched down at about 11:00 local time, after leaving Lockheed Martin’s plant in South Carolina earlier in the month and stopping in Hawaii on 4 November.

The F-16 Block 70 programme

The US State Department approved the possible sale on 20 August 2019 (DSCA transmittal 19-50). The notice listed 66 F-16C/D Block 70 aircraft, 75 General Electric F110 engines and 75 Northrop Grumman APG-83 AESA radars, both figures including nine spares, plus Link 16 terminals, electronic-warfare suites and support. The estimated value was $8 billion. That figure is the US estimate of the whole package at the time of notification, not a contract price, and it should not be divided into a unit cost.

Taiwan funds the purchase under a special multi-year budget, known as the Fengxiang (鳳翔) project, of about NT$247.2 billion covering 2020 to 2026, CNA reported. The new jets go to the 7th Tactical Fighter Wing at Chihhang, which retired its F-5 Tiger IIs in 2024, Breaking Defense reported when the first pair arrived.

How the Block 70 differs from Taiwan’s older F-16s

Taiwan already flies about 140 older F-16A/B jets that have been upgraded to the F-16V standard with the same APG-83 radar. The Block 70s are new airframes, can carry conformal fuel tanks for longer range and use the GE F110 engine rather than the Pratt & Whitney F100 of the older fleet, according to Breaking Defense. Other Block 70 customers include Bahrain, whose first jet appears in the file photo above.

Previous developments: years of delay

Deliveries were first expected to start in 2023 and finish in 2026. Lockheed Martin’s move of F-16 production from Fort Worth, Texas, to Greenville, South Carolina, slowed the start-up of the new line, and supply-chain shortages in 2021 added another year, Breaking Defense reported. The first two jets were then held in Hawaii and Guam by bad weather in September 2026 before landing on 2 October. With five aircraft delivered by early November, 61 remain, and the programme will run past its original 2026 end date.

Industry and regional context

Beijing opposes US arms sales to Taiwan and restated that position after the first delivery in October, Anadolu Agency reported. The Block 70 deliveries strengthen Taiwan’s fighter fleet at a time of frequent Chinese military activity around the island. For Lockheed Martin, each delivery flight is a test of whether the Greenville line has really stabilised, as Taipei now says it has. Turkey also flies F-16s; for how its fleet compares, see our guide What fighter jets does Turkey have? and our ranking of the largest air forces in 2026. Earlier Taiwan coverage: Shield AI delivers first V-BAT to Taiwan’s coast guard.

Sources: Taiwan Ministry of National Defense / Air Force Command Headquarters (8 Nov 2026); CNA; Focus Taiwan; DSCA transmittal 19-50 (2019); Breaking Defense (2 Oct 2026).