The second batch of three F-16V TransMing aircraft arrives in Taitung, and fighter fans are looking forward to it

The first batch of F-16V BLK70 fighter jets from the Chinese military recently returned to Taiwan. (File photo)

[Reporter Fang Weili/Taipei Report] The Air Force, codenamed "Project Fengxiang", spent more than 247.2 billion yuan to purchase 66 new F-16V (BLK 70) fighters from the United States. The second batch of three new aircraft is scheduled to arrive at Taitung Zhihang Base tomorrow (8). The Air Force has issued a notice to the media today (7th), and the public will be able to witness the landing of fighter jets.

The Air Force issued a notice to the media today. According to research and judgment, if there are no force majeure factors such as weather, the new aircraft is expected to land at the Zhihang base around noon. When the first batch of two F-16Vs returned to Taiwan, they took off from Guam at about 8 a.m. on October 2 and landed at about 12 noon after flying for about 4 hours. Previously, Defense Minister Gu Lixiong confirmed in an interview yesterday that the second batch of fighter jets will arrive in Taiwan in the near future.

It is reported that the second batch of three fighter jets are all single-seat aircraft, and their military aircraft numbers are 6729, 6731 and 6732 respectively. This batch of fighters recently left the Lockheed Martin factory in Greenville, South Carolina, and transferred to Fort Worth, Texas. They took off in formation on the 4th, U.S. time, and flew to the Pearl Harbor-Hickam Joint Base in Hawaii for inspection and maintenance with the support of U.S. military tankers.

The Air Force originally planned to deliver all 66 aircraft by the end of this year, but due to factors such as the relocation and restart of Lockheed Martin's production lines, the impact of the epidemic, and supply chain interruptions, the overall delivery schedule has lagged behind.