Two of 66 Jets Ordered in 2019 Land in Taitung After Months of Delays, While Taipei Waits on a Stalled $14 Billion U.S. Arms Package

Taiwan received the first two of 66 new F-16V Block 70 fighter jets from the United States on Friday, October 2, 2026, when the aircraft landed at Chihhang Air Base in Taitung County around noon after flying via Hawaii and Guam. Reuters reported that the jets, ordered in 2019 under an $8 billion sale, will strengthen an air force that has to scramble almost daily to shadow China’s military. The arrival is therefore the delayed delivery of an existing order rather than a new purchase made in response to a recent Chinese move. Focus Taiwan, citing the Central News Agency, reported that the jets arrived roughly a month later than expected, while Reuters said the delivery comes amid growing concern in Taiwan about the Trump administration’s commitment to arming Taipei, which Washington says has not changed. China, which claims Taiwan as its territory, has repeatedly told Washington to stop arming the island.

What Arrived and Where It Is Going
Reuters reported that the two aircraft touched down at Chihhang Air Base on Taiwan’s mountainous east coast after a route through Hawaii and Guam. Focus Taiwan reported that they are the first of 66 F-16V Block 70 jets bought under the Air Force’s Peace Phoenix Soaring project, for which the government spent NT$247.2 billion, about US$8 billion, between 2020 and 2026, and that the aircraft will be stationed at Chihhang. Taiwan News reported on October 1, citing Liberty Times, that all 66 jets are to join the Seventh Tactical Fighter Wing and bolster air defense in eastern Taiwan. According to Focus Taiwan, the new aircraft will join 139 upgraded F-16A/B jets, which would give Taiwan one of the largest F-16V fleets in the world.

Why Taiwan Wants the Jets
Reuters described the delivery as part of an effort to strengthen an air force that is scrambling almost daily against Chinese military activity, and reported that Defence Minister Wellington Koo told reporters Beijing’s intention to annex Taiwan by force has never changed. The wire service said the F-16Vs carry advanced avionics, weapons and radar systems meant to better counter the Chinese air force, including its stealthy J-20 fighters, and that the full order would take Taiwan’s F-16 fleet past 200 jets. Reuters also noted that Washington has been unwilling to provide Taiwan with its most advanced fighters, the F-22 and the F-35, and that an upgrade programme for Taiwan’s existing F-16s was completed in 2023.

Why the Delivery Took So Long
Focus Taiwan reported that deliveries were originally expected to begin in 2023 and finish in 2026, but technical issues pushed the timetable back, and Reuters listed software problems among the causes. Focus Taiwan added that the first two jets had been expected in Taiwan by the end of August but stayed in Hawaii without explanation while President Donald Trump prepared to meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping in late September. Reuters said the arrival came almost exactly a week after the two leaders met in Washington. Koo said more new F-16Vs would arrive soon, though he gave no details, and told reporters Taiwan will not have only these two by the end of the year, according to Reuters. Taiwan News reported that DPP legislator Wang Ting-yu attributed the delay in delivering all 66 jets to the integration of new systems.

The Arms Package Still on Hold
Reuters reported that Trump said in May, after meeting Xi in Beijing, that he was holding a new $14 billion package for Taiwan in abeyance, although he approved one worth $11 billion in December 2025. In an October 1 editorial, the Taipei Times described the $14 billion package as a record one that remains stalled after U.S.-China talks, amid pressure from Beijing to halt arms sales to Taiwan. The same editorial reported that Koo said on Tuesday that U.S. policy toward Taiwan has not changed, that Taipei is in continuous talks with Washington on arms sales, and that the 66 F-16Vs are being readied for delivery after production delays. The editorial argued that Taiwan cannot control U.S. production capacity or foreign policy, and that missiles and interceptors can be used up far faster than aircraft, which makes Taiwan’s proposed T-Dome air-defense system an important test of its ambitions.

How Washington and Beijing Responded
Reuters reported that a U.S. State Department spokesperson, asked about the new F-16s, said Washington continues to stand with friends and allies across the Indo-Pacific, a group the spokesperson said includes Taiwan. The wire service noted that the United States is bound by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself, even though the two have no formal diplomatic relations. Beijing has repeatedly told Washington to stop arming Taiwan, according to Reuters, and the Chinese foreign ministry did not respond to a request for comment on the arrival of the jets.

What Remains Unclear
The reports reviewed for this article describe the first delivery but give no schedule for the remaining 64 jets, and Koo did not say when more would arrive. They do not say whether the stalled $14 billion package will be approved or whether Beijing will respond to the arrival of the jets. Reuters reported that people familiar with U.S. thinking believe a Chinese invasion of Taiwan before 2028 is increasingly unlikely, and noted that Taiwan holds its next presidential election in early 2028, but that assessment is attributed to unnamed people and has not been independently verified.

– Maira Noor

Sources
Reuters via ThePrint (“Taiwan’s first new F-16V fighter jets arrive to bolster defences against China”)
https://theprint.in/world/taiwans-first-new-f-16v-fighter-jets-arrive-to-bolster-defences-against-china/3059833/
Publication Date: October 2, 2026
Focus Taiwan / CNA (“Taiwan receives first 2 F-16V Block 70s”)
https://focustaiwan.tw/politics/202610020006
Publication Date: October 2, 2026
Focus Taiwan / CNA (“A breakdown of Taiwan’s F-16V purchase, as first two jets arrive”)
https://focustaiwan.tw/politics/202610020008
Publication Date: October 2, 2026