Taipei Times
Date: Oct 30, 2019
By: Sean Lin / Staff reporter
Lawmakers yesterday passed the Special Act on the Procurement of Updated Fighter Jets (新式戰
Deputy Legislative Speaker Tsai Chi-chang bangs the gavel at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday as the legislature passes a bill authorizing funding for the procurement of 66 advanced F-16V jets from the US.
Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
The act aims to respond to enemy threats and urgent national defense needs by gradually acquiring updated high-performance jets, to strengthen the air force’s combat abilities, improve the nation’s preparedness for joint operations, and ensure national and regional security, the act states.
It also seeks to enable the nation to attain autonomy regarding defense and drive domestic economic growth, it says.
The procurement plan covers the acquisition of the jets and their equipment, as well as the acquisition, maintenance, development and manufacture of ancillary systems, the act says.
The cost is to be covered by a special budget of up to NT$250 billion, which would come from loans and surplus revenue from the previous fiscal year, it says. [FULL STORY]
