The Obama administration decided against selling 66 new F-16s to Taiwan, notifying the U.S. Congress instead of a planned $5.3 billion upgrade of the island nation’s existing F-16 fleet to include active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar and other new systems. While the decision was widely characterized as an appeasement to Beijing, the Chinese government nevertheless blasted the fleet upgrade, saying it “severely violates” diplomatic understandings, the Xinhua news agency reported.
Taiwan’s request for new F-16C/Ds dates to 2006. In addition to bolstering the island’s defense against Chinese fourth-generation fighters, the order was considered important to extending Lockheed Martin’s F-16 production line in Fort Worth, Texas. The company in August said its F-16 backlog stood at 58 aircraft, sustaining production until mid-2013. However, the backlog was boosted by 18 last week, when the long-mooted sale of F-16C/Ds to Iraq was finally confirmed.
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