Taiwan has taken delivery of its first two United States-made F-16V Block 70 fighter jets, the beginning of a larger order intended to modernise the island’s air force.
The aircraft are an advanced variant of the long-serving F-16 platform, with upgraded systems compared with the older jets currently forming the backbone of Taiwan’s fleet.
The delivery comes amid continuing tensions across the Taiwan Strait. Beijing claims Taiwan as its own territory, while Taipei rejects that claim and maintains its separate, democratic system of government.
For Taipei, the new jets represent a tangible step in a long-running effort to keep its air defences credible in the face of a far larger neighbour that flies regular military patrols near the island.
Arms sales from Washington to Taipei remain a persistent irritant in relations between the United States and China, which has repeatedly urged the US to halt such deals.
The two aircraft are the first of the larger order, with the remaining jets to follow.
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