The request comes on the heels of the Special Act on the Procurement of Updated Fighter Jets passed by the Legislative Yuan on Tuesday, which capped the budget at NT$250 billion.
The requested amount includes the cost of the jets, their avionics, other software and hardware, and research and development (R&D) costs, which total about NT$246.7 billion, while on-site technological advisory, training and transportation costs take up the remaining NT$500 million, the budget request shows.
The request seeks funding over six fiscal years from next year through 2026, when the nation expects to have received all of the warplanes.
Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics official Lee Kuo-hsing (李國興) said that NT$232.2 billion would be sourced through loans, while NT$15 billion would be drawn from surplus revenue.
Government debt would not exceed the amount it is allowed to borrow — 40.6 percent of the average GDP of the previous three fiscal years, Lee said.
The addition to the national debt would be about NT$700 billion after factoring in the costs of the F-16Vs and the remainder of the Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program, Lee said.
The overall national debt is at 31.5 percent of average GDP for the past three fiscal years, so there is allowance for 9.1 percent more, or NT$1.6 trillion, he said.
Asked by reporters why the unit price of the F-16V is higher than what the US quoted other nations for the F-35, which Taipei initially expressed interest in purchasing, Deputy Minister of National Defense Chang Guan-chung said that the comparison was “unfair,” as the quote for the F-35 did not include R&D costs, estimated at about US$53 billion. (end of excerpt)
Click here for the full story, on the Taipei Times website.
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