Amid escalating tensions in the South China Sea, a former deputy national security advisor from the Trump administration thinks the U.S. should ramp up its joint military exercises with Taiwan in order to counter growing threats from China.
The $4.5 billion program to upgrade Taiwan’s F-16s to the Block 70/72 configuration is complete, the U.S. Air Force said, bolstering that country's deterrent to China. Still underway is the provision of 66 new-build Block 70/72s.
It's urgent the Air Force speed the delivery of new F-16Vs and upgrades to older ones in Taiwan, given the rising provocations by China in the Taiwan Strait, 24 Republican members of Congress wrote in a letter to Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall.
The F-16, in service since the 1970s, could be flying with the Air Force into the late 2030s and with foreign air services into the 2070s, based on recently revealed USAF plans and Lockheed Martin's backorder of jets.