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Lawrence Chung

Gabriel Dominguez

The first two F-16 Block 70 fighters bought by Taipei from the United States have yet to reach Taiwan, after spending more than two weeks in Hawaii for reasons that remain unclear.
The aircraft, which were expected to arrive at Taiwan’s Chihhang Air Base in late August, were spotted preparing for departure at Joint Base Pearl Harbour-Hickam on Monday, raising expectations that the fighters were finally about to resume their journey.
But the two single-seat F-16Cs, numbered 6727 and 6728, apparently did not leave Hawaii, with witnesses saying they taxied towards the runway before returning to the apron.
It was the latest twist in the long-awaited delivery of the aircraft, which arrived in Hawaii on August 21 after leaving the continental United States with aerial refuelling support from US Air Force KC-135 tankers.
The pair had been expected to continue to Guam after refuelling and servicing before making the final leg to Taiwan. Instead, they have remained at Hickam, with reports suggesting an earlier attempt to leave Hawaii was also aborted.


Neither the US side nor Taiwan’s air force has publicly explained why the aircraft have been held up for so long, fuelling speculation among military and aviation enthusiasts that technical problems might have emerged.
Some local reports have cited military sources as saying the aircraft encountered “minor problems” that required adjustments in Hawaii. Poor weather along the trans-Pacific route and around Taiwan has also been cited as a possible factor.
Neither explanation has been officially confirmed.
Michael Bosack, a former US Air Force officer and director of the Parley Policy Institute, said maintenance, tanker problems, aircrew health or weather could have caused the delay, but a maintenance issue was the most likely explanation.
Even a routine warning could force an aircraft to return for inspection, he said. If a more serious defect was discovered, repairs would have to be followed by further checks and a post-maintenance safety flight before the aircraft could continue.
“All it would take is one of the aircraft to be ‘hard broke’ … to stop the transit,” Bosack said, adding that problems could emerge even in newly delivered aircraft once they had been flown for some time.
Another possible factor was aerial refuelling, with a maintenance problem involving the designated tanker or limited tanker availability potentially disrupting the flight plan, Bosack noted.
Aircrew health could also have played a role, particularly if one or more pilots became unwell, he said, adding that he considered weather to be less likely as it would take “extreme conditions” to prevent the flights.
However, Taipei-based military analyst Erich Shih said weather could have been a significant factor, with Hurricane Lowell bringing heavy rain, strong winds and high waves to Hawaii and conditions along the westbound route remaining unstable.
“Monday may have offered the only recent window for the ferry flight, as conditions in Hawaii were barely acceptable and Taiwan’s weather had improved after days of heavy rain,” Shih said.


But US commanders might have decided not to take any risks, he said, adding that this might explain why the two fighters entered a taxiway connecting Hickam with Honolulu airport before being recalled and the mission cancelled.
One military enthusiast questioned why two newly built aircraft would require such a lengthy stay in Hawaii if only routine adjustments were involved.
“The point now is not when they will fly back, but why newly delivered aircraft have encountered problems and what kind of defects would require such a long time to fix,” the enthusiast said.
Other disappointed military fans have also complained about the repeated delays in the programme, which has already fallen well behind its original delivery schedule.
“Taiwan has spent a huge amount of money buying so many aircraft, but has yet to receive even one, while [the military] keeps asking for more money,” one online commenter wrote.
Others were more cautious, noting that ferrying fighter jets across the Pacific was a complex operation involving weather, aerial refuelling, maintenance and coordination between several bases. Flight safety should take priority over meeting a delivery date, they said.
Taiwan’s air force has declined to give a firm arrival date, saying the arrangements remain subject to notification from the US side.
“We are waiting too,” an air force official said on Monday when asked about the delivery, while thanking the public for its interest.
Mounting delivery pressures
The uncertainty comes as the entire F-16 Block 70 programme faces mounting pressure over its delivery schedule.
Washington approved the sale of 66 newly built F-16 Block 70 fighters to Taiwan in 2019, for more than NT$247.2 billion (US$7.6 billion).
The order comprises 56 single-seat F-16Cs and 10 twin-seat F-16Ds, which will mostly be stationed at the Chihhang base in the eastern county of Taitung and operated by the air force’s Seventh Tactical Fighter Wing.
Deliveries were originally scheduled to begin in 2023, with all 66 aircraft due by the end of this year. But production line relocation, Covid-19 supply-chain disruptions, software issues and more recent flight-testing problems have pushed procurement well behind schedule.
Wellington Koo Li-hsiung, the Taiwanese defence minister, said earlier this year that US contractor Lockheed Martin was producing 46 single-seat and 10 twin-seat F-16V Block 70 fighters for Taiwan. He did not give an update on the remaining 10 aircraft.
Koo later acknowledged that the original completion target would not be met but has stopped short of saying whether all the remaining aircraft could be delivered by next year or 2028.
The new fighters will significantly expand an F-16 fleet that is at the centre of Taiwan’s air defences as the People’s Liberation Army increases aerial operations around the island.




Once all 66 fighters are delivered, they will join 139 older F-16A/B Block 20 aircraft that Taiwan has upgraded to the F-16V standard, giving the island more than 200 F-16s and making it one of the world’s largest operators of the type.
The Block 70 aircraft are also fitted with conformal fuel tanks, giving them greater range and endurance than Taiwan’s older F-16s.
Even so, moving fighter aircraft across the Pacific remains a complex undertaking, requiring careful coordination of weather, aerial refuelling and servicing, as well as stopovers.
Based on Taiwan’s previous F-16 deliveries, the new fighters are expected to stop in Guam before continuing to Taitung. The Hawaii-Guam leg takes about eight hours and 20 minutes, while the flight from Guam to Taiwan takes roughly four hours and 40 minutes.
Beijing sees Taiwan as part of China and has never ruled out the use of force for reunification. The United States, like most nations, does not recognise Taiwan as an independent state but is opposed to any forcible change to the status quo and is committed to providing arms for its defence.


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No official reason has been given for why the initial two aircraft are yet to leave the Pearl Harbour-Hickam base


No official reason has been given for why the initial two aircraft are yet to leave the Pearl Harbour-Hickam base.


United States

Taiwan waits for its new F-16s, still stuck in Hawaii after a fortnight’s delay

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}No official reason has been given for why the initial two aircraft are yet to leave the Pearl Harbour-Hickam base

No official reason has been given for why the initial two aircraft are yet to leave the Pearl Harbour-Hickam base