TAITUNG, Taiwan — The Republic of China Air Force (ROCAF / Taiwan Air Force) has officially received its first two newly manufactured F-16V Block 70 (F-16C/D) multirole combat aircraft at Chihhang Air Base in Taitung. Carrying serial numbers 6727 and 6728, the single-seat fighters arrived in Taiwan on October 2, 2026, following a transpacific ferry flight from Lockheed Martin’s manufacturing facility in Greenville, South Carolina, via intermediate stops in Hawaii and Guam. The arrival marks the operational initiation of Taiwan’s $8 billion “Peace Phoenix Soaring” procurement program for 66 new-build Block 70 jets under a U.S. Foreign Military Sales (FMS) contract originally approved in 2019.
Following nearly three years of industrial production delays driven by supply-chain bottlenecks, flight-test calibrations, and Taiwan-specific avionics/software integration, the newly delivered aircraft will join the newly organized 7th Tactical Fighter Wing. Designed for an extended 12,000-hour airframe service life, these Block 70 jets complement Taiwan’s 140 previously upgraded F-16A/B Block 20 (F-16V) airframes, pushing ROCAF’s total Viper fleet past 200 aircraft. Staging out of eastern Taiwan’s Chihhang Air Base enhances force preservation and sortie generation capabilities against People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) air-superiority sweeps and anti-access/area-denial (A2/AD) pressures across the Taiwan Strait and Western Pacific perimeter.
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS: LOCKHEED MARTIN F-16V BLOCK 70 (ROCAF / TAIWAN AIR FORCE)
* System Classification: 4.5-Generation Advanced Multirole Tactical Fighter Aircraft
* Prime Contractor & Systems Integrator: Lockheed Martin Aeronautics (Greenville, South Carolina)
* Sponsoring Program / FMS Case: Project “Peace Phoenix Soaring” ($8.0 Billion USD / NT$247.2 Billion)
* Primary Operator: Republic of China Air Force (ROCAF 7th Tactical Fighter Wing / Chihhang AB, Taitung)
* Total Fleet Procurement: 66 new-build F-16 Block 70 aircraft (56 single-seat F-16C / 10 dual-seat F-16D)
* Airframe Architecture & Structural Envelope:
* Structural Service Life: 12,000 flight hours (~50% increase over legacy Block 20 airframes)
* Maximum Take-off Weight (MTOW): 48,000 lbs (21,772 kg)
* Fuel Architecture: Fuselage-conforming conformal fuel tanks (CFTs) providing +3,000 lbs internal fuel capacity
* Powerplant & Performance Mechanics:
* Engine Type: 1x General Electric F110-GE-129 afterburning turbofan (~29,000 lbf thrust class)
* Speed & Maneuverability Limits: Mach 2.0 at altitude | +9.0 g design limit
* Radar, Sensors & Avionics Core:
* Primary Fire Control Radar: Northrop Grumman AN/APG-83 Scalable Agile Beam Radar (SABR) AESA
* Mission Computer & Displays: Modular Mission Computer (MMC 7000AH) with High-Resolution Center Pedestal Display (CPD)
* Electronic Warfare Suite: L3Harris AN/ALQ-254(V)1 Viper Shield digital internal EW suite w/ integrated RWR & RF countermeasure generation
* Datalink Architecture: Tactical Information Exchange System (TIES) / Link 16 integration for joint multi-domain tracking
* Armament & Multi-Mission Ordnance Capabilities (11 Hardpoints):
* Air-to-Air Interception: AIM-120C-7/C-8 AMRAAM & AIM-9X Sidewinder Block II (paired w/ JHMCS II helmet-mounted sight)
* Precision Strike & Anti-Ship: AGM-84L Harpoon Block II, AGM-88B HARM, AGM-154C JSOW, and MS-110 multispectral reconnaissance pods
