U.S. Air Force: F-16 fighter production encounter development challenge delay to Taiwa

(Taipei Bloomberg) The United States delayed the delivery of F-16 fighters sold to Taiwan. Taiwan had previously pointed out that it affected the supply chain due to a crown disease.The US Air Force stated in the latest statement that the production of the F-16 fighter has encountered a "complicated development challenge."

According to Bloomberg News on Wednesday (May 24), the U.S. Air Force said in a statement that the US government, Taiwan, and US military industry companies in charge of production "are actively striving to alleviate these delays" and will do their bestCan find solutions and deliver these full -functional aircraft to partners as soon as possible.

The statement did not explain in detail which development challenges have encountered.The U.S. Air Force said that after learning about technical problems, senior officials from the US State Department and Pentagon immediately contacted Lockheed and went to the Greenwell Base to meet with the company's executives to discuss this issue.

Liz Lutz, a spokesman for Lockheed, said in a statement that the company is working closely with the US government to deal with challenges to support US security goals.

Whether the above challenges will affect the time of the fighters delivered to the time of the fighters delivered to Barin, Jordan, Slovakia, Morocco and Bulgaria, the US Air Force and Lockheed Company refused to disclose.

F-16 fighters have been in service since 1979.Taiwan had previously had this old model fighter. The United States approved the selling 66 new F-16V fighters equipped with "fire control radar" in Taiwan in 2019, which can launch precise guide ammunition from a farther distance.

According to the original plan, Taiwan will receive the first two fighters from October to December this year.However, the Taiwan Ministry of National Defense said earlier this month that the supply chain was interrupted due to the crown disease epidemic, and it has been postponed to delivery between July and September next year.Lockheed said all 66 aircraft will still be delivered in 2026 as planned.