Taiwan close to sealing F-16 A/Bs upgrade deal with US

Taiwan's F-16 fighter jets patrol in the skies of Hualien. (Photo/Hsu Chih-chien)

Taiwan will send back a proposal by the United States to overhaul the country's aging F-16 A/B jet fighters to seal the arms sales deal by the end of next week, Taiwan's military said Thursday.
The Ministry of National Defense has recently completed its review of the letter detailing a refit package for Taiwan's 145 F-16A/B fighters, and will send back a reply to the US by mid-July, the military told CNA.
The proposal, which was sent to Taipei by Washington in early May, contained listed prices totaling some US$3.8 billion that were in line with the budget approved by Taiwan's cabinet, military officials said.
Included in the refit of Taiwan's A/B fighters is the installation of Active Electronically Scanned Array radar. Equipping the fighters with AESA radar is a new initiative, officials said. Other items on the list include AIM-9X Sidewinder air-to-air missiles and Joint Direct Attack Munition guidance kits, according to the officials.
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