TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan received a second batch of three F-16 Block 70 fighter jets from the U.S. on Sunday amid heightened tensions with China, local media reported.
The three jets landed “safely” at Chihhang Air Base in Taitung on Sunday morning, Taipei-based Central News reported, citing the country’s air force.
The aircraft took off from Lockheed Martin’s factory in South Carolina last Tuesday.
Taipei received its first two F-16 Block 70 fighter jets last month.
Under the Phoenix Rising program, U.S. defense contractor Lockheed Martin and Taiwan’s Aerospace Industrial Development Corp. upgraded 140 F-16A/B fighters to the F-16V Block 20 configuration. The upgrades were completed in Dec. 2023.
China had reiterated its “firm” opposition to U.S. arms sales to Taiwan after the island received the first two of 66 F-16V Block 70 fighter jets from Washington.
The sale of the 66 F-16Vs and related equipment was approved by the U.S. administration in 2019 for approximately $8 billion, in a deal representing a significant upgrade to Taipei’s air defense capabilities amid persistent tensions with Beijing.