Taiwan getting US$228 million in F-16V fighter jet parts and equipment: State Department

Proposed sale said to boost self-governed island’s security and help maintain ‘political stability, military balance and economic progress’

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Taiwanese airforce pilots run past an armed US-made F-16V fighter jet at Chiayi Air Base in southern Taiwan in 2022. Photo: AFP

Published: 6:37am, 18 Sep 2024Updated: 2:01am, 19 Sep 2024

The US State Department approved a US$228 million “return, repair and reshipment” package of spare parts and related equipment with Taiwan for F-16V fighter aircraft.

The transaction was approved on Monday by the department’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs and notification sent to the US Congress, the department said in an email on Tuesday.

“The proposed sale will improve the recipient’s ability to meet current and future threats,” the department added, saying it would “help improve the security of the recipient and assist in maintaining political stability, military balance and economic progress in the region”.

The Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States – Taiwan’s de facto embassy in Washington – requested purchase of the “classified and unclassified” parts as well as US government and trusted contractor engineering, technical and logistics support services, logistics and programme support.

Parts and services will also be applied to other fixed wing aircraft, said Andrew Strike, a department spokesman.