Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/03/19
By: Wen Kuei-hsiang and Joseph Yeh

Image taken from Lockheed Martin’s website

Taipei, March 19 (CNA) President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) confirmed Tuesday that her administration has made a formal request to the United States to purchase F-16 Viper fighter jets after an overall evaluation of Taiwan’s defense needs.

The Ministry of National Defense (MND) has officially submitted a Letter of Request to the U.S. to buy a fleet of F-16V fighter planes, Tsai told a group of visitors from the Republic of China (Taiwan) Air Force Elementary School Alumni Association of the United States and Canada.

The decision was made after careful evaluation to determine the advantages of the F-16V compared with other fighter jet models, Tsai said, while receiving the visitors at the Presidential Office.

“I believe the decision will be supported by our nationals,” she said, adding that it is the first time since 1992 that Taiwan has made a request to the U.S. to purchase new fighter jets.    [FULL  STORY]