US Notifies Congress of Proposed $8bn Sale of F-16 Block 70 Fighters to Taiwan

Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States (TECRO): F-16C/D Block 70 Aircraft and Related Equipment and Support

Taiwan will shortly become the latest – and the largest – operator of Lockheed F-16V Block 70 fighters, when it combines the 66 new aircraft it will buy from the US with the earlier F-16s it is also upgrading to Block 70 standard. (RoCAF photo)

WASHINGTON --- The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to TECRO for the 66 F-16C/D Block 70 aircraft and related equipment and support for an estimated cost of $8 billion. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale today.

TECRO has requested to purchase:
-- sixty-six (66) F-16C/D Block 70 aircraft;
-- seventy-five (75) F110 General Electric Engines (includes 9 spares);
-- seventy-five (75) Link-16 Systems (includes 9 spares);
-- seventy-five (75) Improved Programmable Display Generators (iPDG) (includes 9 spares);
-- seventy-five (75) APG-83 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) Radars (includes 9 spares);
-- seventy-five (75) Modular Mission Computers 7000AH (includes 9 spares);
-- seventy-five (75) LN-260 Embedded GPS/INS (includes 9 spares);
-- seventy-five (75) M61 Vulcan 20mm Guns (includes 9 spares);
-- one-hundred thirty-eight (138) LAU-129 Multipurpose Launchers;
-- six (6) FMU-139D/B Fuze for Guided Bombs;
-- six (6) FMU-139D/B Inert Fuze for Guided Bombs;
-- six (6) FMU 152 Fuze for Guided Bombs:
-- six (6) MK-82 Filled Inert Bombs for Guided Bombs; and
-- three (3) KMU-572 Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) Tail Kits, GBU-38/54.

Also included are:
-- seventy-five (75) AN/ALE-47 Countermeasure Dispensers (includes 9 spares);
-- one-hundred twenty (120) ALE-50 towed decoy or equivalent;
-- seventy-five (75) APX-126 Advanced Identification Friend or Foe (includes 9 spares);
-- seventy­ five (75) AN/ALQ-211 A(V)4 Airborne Integrated Defensive Electronic Warfare Suite (AIDEWS) or equivalent (includes 9 spares);
-- EW Line Replaceable Unit (LRU) and Standard Electronic Module (SEM) spares;
-- one hundred fifty (150) ARC-238 radios (includes 18 spares);
-- Secure Communications and Cryptographic Appliques including seventy-three (73) KIV-78 cryptographic COMSEC devices, and ten (10) AN/PYQ-10 Simple Key Loaders (SKLs) for COMSEC; three (3) Joint Mission Planning Systems (JMPS);
-- twenty-seven (27) Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing Systems (JHMCS) II with Night Vision Device (NVD) compatibility or Scorpion Hybrid Optical-based Inertial Tracker (HOblT) helmet mounted cueing system with NVD compatibility;
-- seventy (70) NVDs;
-- six (6) NVD spare image intensifier tubes;
-- Cartridge Actuated Devices/Propellant Actuated Devices (CAD/PAD); cartridges; chaff; flares;
-- three (3) each DSU-38A/B Precision Laser Guidance Sensor (PLGS) for GBU-54 Laser Joint Direct Attack Munition (LJDAM) integration;
-- PGU-28A/B 20mm ammunition;
-- telemetry units for integration and test; bomb components;
-- twenty (20) ground debriefing stations;
-- Electronic Combat International Security Assistance Program (ECISAP) support including EW database and Mission Data File (MDF) development (classified/unclassified);
-- communications equipment;
-- classified/unclassified spares, repair, support equipment, test equipment, software delivery/support, personnel training, training equipment, flight/tactics manuals, publications and technical documentation;
-- bomb racks;
-- Organizational, Intermediate and Depot level tooling;
-- Pilot Life Support Equipment (PLSE);
-- Alternate Mission Equipment (AME);
-- ground training devices (including flight and maintenance simulators);
-- containers;
-- development, integration, test and engineering, technical and logistical support of munitions; aircraft ferry;
-- studies and surveys; construction services; U.S. Government and contractor engineering, technical and logistical support services; and other related elements of logistics, program and sustainment support.

The total estimated program cost is $8 billion.

This proposed sale is consistent with U.S. law and policy as expressed in Public Law 96-8.

This proposed sale serves U.S. national, economic, and security interests by supporting the recipient’s continuing efforts to modernize its armed forces and to maintain a credible defensive capability. The proposed sale will help improve the security of the recipient and assist in maintaining political stability, military balance, and economic progress in the region.

This proposed sale will contribute to the recipient’s capability to provide for the defense of its airspace, regional security, and interoperability with the United States. The recipient currently operates the F-16A/B. The recipient will have no difficulty absorbing this aircraft and services into its arms forces.

The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the basic military balance in the region.

The principal contractor will be Lockheed Martin, headquartered in Bethesda, MD. There are no known offset agreements proposed. The purchaser typically requests offsets. Any offset agreement would be defined in negotiations between the purchaser and the contractor(s).

Implementation of this proposed sale will require assignment of a small number of U.S. Government representatives (less than 20) and a modest number of contractor representatives to the recipient to manage the fielding and training for the program.

There will be no adverse impact on U.S. defense readiness as a result of this proposed sale.

This notice of a potential sale is required by law and does not mean the sale has been concluded.

-ends-

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