Trump Aides Back Selling F-16 Fighter Planes to Taiwan, Sources Say

choi

Nick Wadhams, Jennifer Jacobs, Jenny Leonard and Anthony Capaccio, Trump Aides Back Selling F-16 Fighter Planes to Taiwan, Sources Say. Bloomberg, Mar 21, 2019
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/a ... er-planes-to-taiwan

My comment:
(a) General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ge ... -16_Fighting_Falcon

section 4 Variants:

"F-16A/B[:] The F-16A (single seat) and F-16B (two seat) were initial production variants. These variants include the Block 1, 5, 10 and 20 versions. Block 15 was the first major change to the F-16 with larger horizontal stabilizers. It is the most numerous of all F-16 variants with 475 produced. Many F-16A and B aircraft have been upgraded to the Mid-Life Upgrade (MLU) Block 20 standard, becoming functionally equivalent to mid-production C/D models." (citation omitted).

"F-16V[:] At the 2012 Singapore Air Show Lockheed Martin unveiled plans for the new F-16V variant with the V suffix for its Viper nickname. It is to feature an AN/APG-83 active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, a new mission computer and electronic warfare suite, automated ground collision avoidance system, and various cockpit improvements; this package is an option on current production F-16s and can be retrofitted to most in service F-16s.[178][179] First flight took place Oct 21, 2015. Upgrades to Republic of China (Taiwan)'s F-16 fleet began in January 2017. The first country to confirm the purchase of 16 new F-16V Block 70/72 was Bahrain. Slovakia announced on July 11, 2018 that it intends to purchase 14 F-16 Block 70/72 aircraft. Lockheed Martin has redesignated the F-16V Block 70 as the 'F-21' in its offering for India's fighter requirement."  (citations omitted).
(b) I have wondered what is the difference between Taiwan's upgraded A/B and intended purchase F-16V. Probably no difference. See

Mike Yeo, Taiwan takes delivery of first locally upgraded F-16. Defense News, Oct 22, 2018/
https://www.defensenews.com/air/ ... ally-upgraded-f-16/
("The F-16V upgrade sees the installation of the Northrop Grumman AN/APG-83 Scalable Agile Beam Radar, an active electronically scanned radar, to replace the older mechanically scanned set")

Before the upgrade to V, what Taiwan has/had is/was already "F-16A/B Block 20s." See
Chen Chuanren, Taiwan Receives First F-16V Upgrade. AINonline, Oct 23, 2018
https://www.ainonline.com/aviati ... first-f-16v-upgrade  
("The first [upgraded to V] aircraft, serial 6626, was spotted landing at Chiayi airbase on October 19. The aircraft sports a new coat of paint, but no squadron markings were worn on the tail.  The first four F-16A/B Block 20s began refurbishment at the state-owned Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation (AIDC) facility in Taichung in January 2017, and 6626 entered flight test in August this year, flown by Lockheed Martin test pilots")

There is no need to read the rest of this AINonline report.