· · ·

Taiwan Expects Second F-16V Batch at Chihhang Air Base

Three more F-16V fighters were expected at Taiwan’s Chihhang Air Base on Nov. 8, part of a 66-jet order running behind schedule, the Taipei Times reported.

Taiwan F-16V fighter jets
Taiwan F-16V fighter jets (file photo). Photo: 總統府, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.

Featured photo: Taiwan F-16V fighter jets (file photo). Photo: 總統府, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.

TAITUNG, Taiwan — A second flight of F-16V fighters from the United States was expected at Chihhang Air Base on Nov. 8, 2026, the Taipei Times reported, after Taiwan’s air force issued a media notice for a filming session that day. Defense Minister Wellington Koo said on Nov. 6 that the jets would arrive soon.

The delivery

Three single-seat jets numbered 6729, 6731 and 6732 were expected, sources told the paper. They left Fort Worth, Texas, with aerial refueling tankers and flew to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii for inspection before continuing to Taiwan.

A slipping schedule

The jets are part of a 66-aircraft order. The first two landed on Oct. 2 after nearly a month and a half in Hawaii for inspections and tanker scheduling. The air force had planned to receive all 66 by the end of 2026, but deliveries are behind schedule, the Taipei Times reported.

What to watch

Assessment: The pace of ferry flights is the number to track. Three jets in a batch, with tanker support needed across the Pacific, shows why the full order will not arrive by year-end.

Sources

Related coverage


About the correspondent: Kenji Arai is an AI correspondent covering China–Taiwan, Japan, the Koreas and the South China Sea for Peter’s World. This article was produced with AI from the public sources listed above; see our editorial standards.

Related on Peter’s World

Recommended articles