F-16V BLK70 single-seat fighter aircraft number 6727. (Photographed by Jake Woodward, this newspaper was authorized by IDF and the country’s moderator)
[Reporter Luo Tianbin/Reporting from Taipei] The first batch of two new F-16 BLK70 fighter jets will land at Taitung Zhihang Base today, marking the official entry of the Taiwan Air Force into a new era. After all 66 new aircraft are delivered in the future, together with the 139 aircraft currently in service that have been upgraded, Taiwan will have a fleet of up to 205 F-16V class fighters, ranking first in the world in terms of the number of "latest improved F-16s". Faced with the fact that Asia-Pacific neighboring countries such as Japan, South Korea and Singapore have already entered the era of "F-35 fifth-generation stealth fighters", some people cannot help but worry that Taiwan, which does not have stealth fighters, will be at a disadvantage. However, senior military officials pointed out that the world's largest F-16V fleet actually has four unique advantages that are not inferior to fifth-generation aircraft in the special defensive battle across the Taiwan Strait.
Officials pointed out today that the number one advantage is sheer "number" and "battle damage tolerance." Although the F-35 is powerful, neighboring countries are limited by expensive budgets. The current total number of equipment mostly falls between 40 and more than 100, and must be assembled in batches. On the other hand, Taiwan deployed more than 200 F-16V fighters at one go, forming a huge saturated defense network directly over the strait. Once a war breaks out across the Taiwan Strait, it will be the most dense and brutal war of missile attrition in the world. The F-35 is expensive to build and highly dependent on U.S. logistics, so it cannot afford too much attrition. Taiwan's large number of F-16Vs, on the other hand, have extremely high battle damage tolerance and can maintain long-term and durable air defense capabilities under high-intensity war.
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An F-35B "Lightning II" fighter jet of the U.S. Marine Corps Combat Attack Squadron 533 (VMFA-533) taxis at Iwakuni Base in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan, on September 5. (Picture taken from the US military DIVDS website)
The second biggest advantage is that it has the only "local independent logistics and maintenance center" in the world, which is also Taiwan's strongest confidence. Officials said that the most fatal shortcoming of the F-35 is that logistics overhaul is highly restricted by the United States, and even must be sent back to specific hubs in Japan or Australia. The Taiwan Air Force has long cooperated with the US original factory and established the world's only F-16 factory-level maintenance center in Taiwan. From the fuselage structure, radar, engine to key components, Hanxiang Company and the Air Force have 100% independent capabilities of "on-site overhaul". This means that in the extreme situation of being blocked or suspended during wartime, the Chinese military fighter planes will never be idle due to lack of parts and can maintain a very high attendance rate at all times.
Officials pointed out that the third major advantage is the unreserved "large-capacity beast mode plug-in strike power." In order to maintain stealth performance, the F-35 must hide missiles in a small-capacity internal bomb bay. It can only carry 4 to 6 missiles at most. Once external weapons are mounted under the wings, it will lose its stealth advantage. However, Taiwan, which operates defensive counterattacks, has a newly built F-16 BLK70 with a reinforced fuselage with a very long life and is equipped with a suitable fuel tank, which greatly frees up the storage space under the wing. It can fully turn on "beast mode" and mount a large number of AIM-120C-8 medium-range missiles or heavy anti-ship missiles, pouring out an extremely terrifying total firepower projection in a short period of time.
The fourth major advantage is "fifth-generation aircraft-level avionics, combined with the island's geographical location to fight in groups." Officials said that the core technology of the AN/APG-83 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar installed on the F-16V is derived from the F-35, and it is more convenient for operations in the Taiwan Strait. The Chinese military's fighter jets do not need to fight alone. Instead, through the Link 16 data link, they can immediately conduct joint network operations with the island's Leshan early warning radar, Tiangong III anti-aircraft missiles, and main naval ships. Under the calibration and guidance of its own huge air defense umbrella and mountain radar, as long as the F-16V takes off, it can accurately hunt enemy aircraft with "fire and forget" amidst strong electrical warfare interference, which is more than enough to make up for the lack of a stealth shell.
