Taiwan's first F-16V Block 70 jets depart US for delivery flight

Two F-16V Block 70 fighter jets bought by Taiwan left the United States on August 17, 2026, and were expected to reach Taiwan shortly after, according to reporting citing the Taipei Times. The aircraft, carrying serial numbers 6727 and 6728, were due to be refueled in the air and to make at least one maintenance stop during the long trans-Pacific transit. Part of the reason was to give pilots a rest during the journey.

The jets are the first of 66 Block 70 aircraft Taiwan agreed to buy from Lockheed Martin under a program called Peace Phoenix Soaring. Taiwan's air force has spent roughly NT$247.2 billion, or about US$7.74 billion, on the order between 2020 and 2026.

The purchase contract dates back to 2019, when deliveries were originally penciled in for 2023 and 2024. Those timelines slipped for several years because of a relocation of the production line, wider supply-chain strain across the aerospace sector, and workforce shortages. Lockheed Martin reportedly moved to double production shifts, running its factory close to 20 hours a day, to catch up. Taiwan's defense minister said earlier in 2026 that the manufacturer had largely worked through its parts and staffing bottlenecks.

Other buyers of the Block 70 variant have faced similar waits. Slovakia and Bulgaria placed their orders in 2018 and 2019 respectively but only began receiving jets in 2024 and 2025.

A separate initiative, referred to as Peace Phoenix Rising, is reportedly aimed at upgrading Taiwan's existing F-16 fleet alongside the new deliveries, though further detail on that program was not specified.