Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/12/05
By: Hsieh Chia-chen and Lilian Wu
Taipei, Dec. 5 (CNA) Mirage fighters purchased from France have superb performance and Taiwan 
has no plans to decommission them ahead of schedule, Deputy National Defense Minister Lee Hsi-ming (李喜明) said on Monday.
The Apple Daily, a local newspaper, reported that 19 years have passed since Taiwan began to take delivery of Mirage fighters in 1997.
Taiwan has been asking France to upgrade the performance of the 56 Mirage fighter jets since 2012, but Paris has been dragging its feet, and even gave an “exorbitant” price tag, which resulted in the MND not accepting the deal, the report said.
There are worries that if parts and components of the fighters become unavailable, the Air Force could decommission them before the scheduled time, the report said. [FULL STORY]
