Delay in sending US-made F-16 jets to Taiwan under the pretext of Ukraine

According to the Fars News Agency International Group, American lawmakers have expressed concern that the delivery of F-16 fighter jets to Taiwan will be further delayed due to current geopolitical concerns in the region.

website «Defense Post” wrote on Wednesday, a number of Republican lawmakers wrote a letter to “Frank Kendall” the commander of the US Air Force and pointed out the country’s obvious problems in completing the production and transfer of fighters. /p>

US lawmakers, while approving US President Joe Biden’s rush to speed up delivery of the jets, said concerns about military commitments in Ukraine and Israel are ahead.

Taiwan has converted 141 F-16E fighters to F-16V. Taiwan, of course, has ordered 66 new F-16s, which have new avionics systems, weapons and radar. However, Taiwan’s Air Force is hardly able to compete with its Chinese counterpart. China’s Air Force has a fleet of 1,700 warplanes.

Besides, the Taiwan Air Force has suffered a series of fatal accidents in recent years. has been A quorum that has raised concerns about the combat readiness of the island’s armed forces at the same time as the Golan Heights of Chinese military jets in the region.

that “Rob Whitman”, the American lawmaker and the vice-chairman of the Armed Forces Committee of the House of Representatives of this country, emphasized the importance of prioritizing promises to Taiwan at the same time as the security concerns on this island increase.

He said: “We cannot give our closest friends too much promise but too little equipment.”

In In 2019, the U.S. State Department approved the sale of 66 F-16 fighter jets and related support equipment to Taiwan for $8 billion. Initial delivery was scheduled for early this year, but production issues have delayed the transfer until the third quarter of 2024. US lawmakers have estimated that delivery of the fighters will be completed by 2027.

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