Defence Minister tells parliament all problems with retrofitting programme have been solved

South hina Morning Post
Date: 16 Oct, 2019
By: Lawrence Chung  

Taiwan’s multimillion dollar programme to retrofit its 142-strong fleet of F-16 fighter jets to bring them up to Viper standard is expected to be completed within the next four years.

Defence Minister Yen Teh-fa told parliament on Wednesday that all problems with the upgrade programme had been solved and the air force expected to take delivery of the jets by 2023. The performance of the jets will be further bolstered by the addition of medium-range precision guided weapons and automatic ground collision avoidance systems.

Yen was responding to lawmakers’ concerns that the retrofitting timetable would be affected by the US$8 billion purchase from the US of 66 of the latest Lockheed Martin F-16V Viper fighter jets, after local military critics questioned whether the deal would force the military to axe some spending on the retrofitting programme.

Lawmakers also questioned whether Taiwan’s Aerospace Industrial Development Corp (AIDC) had sufficient manpower for the project after the company failed to deliver six refitted jets in the first quarter of this year as scheduled.    [FULL  STORY]