Taiwan Hope for all 66 F-16V Fighter Jets by 2026 Amid Shifting US Priorities

The Ministry of National Defense told legislators last week that production of the planes has been delayed because of issues relating to equipment Taiwan wants installed. Two of the fighters are expected to be delivered in the fourth quarter this year, and will be used for flight tests.

Taiwanese lawmakers have questioned why there’s been a delay in receiving $20 billion of weapons it has bought from the US. In addition to the F-16s, Taiwan has bought Patriot air defense systems, the Harpoon coastal defense system and High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS).

Last year, the Pentagon blamed those delays on production bottlenecks. At the same time, though, the US has been prioritizing Ukraine over Taiwan when it comes to supplying weapons.

In May, a bipartisan group of US members of Congress visited Taiwan and vowed that those long-promised weapons will be on their way. “We are moving forward on those weapons systems,” said the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Michael McCaul. “I’d like to see to see it faster, but they are forthcoming.”

McCaul told NBC News that strong US support for Taiwan will make China question whether it is worth attacking the island.

“We have to demonstrate that the consequences would be way too severe and the risks would outweigh the consequences,” he said.

Last month, the Biden administration said it was putting Ukraine at the head of the line when it came to receiving US-made air defense interceptor missiles for Patriot missile batteries and the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS).