Taiwanese F-16 Block 70 progress

Report by Robin Polderman, photo by Taiwan MoD

A recent visit of a delegation led by Vice Minister of Defense Hsu Szu-chien to the Lockheed Martin F-16 manufacturing facility in Greenville, North Carolina, provided insight into the progress of F-16 Block 70 production for Taiwan.

In a photo released by the Taiwanese MoD an F-16 with serial 6727 is displayed, which should be the 7th single seat F-16C for the Republic of China. The sighting of this jet more or less ties in with the June 2025 claim that 10 examples for Taiwan (both F-16C and F-16D) would be assembled by the end of that year.

Although the aircraft in the photo looks ready to fly, it does miss a crucial piece of equipment; despite having been fitted with a canopy, it appears the ejection seat is still missing.

During 2019, Taiwan signed a US$8 billion deal for 66 F-16C/D Block 70 aircraft. On 28 March 2025, the first jet (an F-16D with serial 6831) was revealed to the public. It is anticipated the first batch of aircraft will be delivered to Taiwan during the fourth quarter of 2026, with the brand new F-16s staging through Hawaii and Guam on their way to new home base Taitung.

Following many delays, the claim that all 66 aircraft would be delivered before the end of 2026 has now been abandoned due to production issues, software delays, and supply chain disruptions.

As the Taiwanese side is growing increasingly impatient amid rising tensions with neighbouring China, Lockheed Martin assures it has assigned ‘several hundred’ of its personnel working in two shifts to assemble the remaining jets of the order.