The US government has cleared the possible sale of spare parts to support the active electronically scanned array (AESA) radars that equip Taiwan’s Lockheed Martin F-16 fleet.
The potential package is valued at $320 million and covers spare parts for the radars, according to the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA).
The nation’s F-16s received the Northrop Grumman APG-83 Scalable Agile Beam AESA radars during a major upgrade effort that was completed in 2023, which saw 139 F-16s updated to the F-16V configuration.
The DSCA indicates that the AESA spares will come from US government stocks.
“The proposed sale will help improve the security of the recipient and assist in maintaining political stability, military balance, and economic progress in the region,” says the DSCA.
“The proposed sale will improve the recipient’s ability to meet current and future threats by maintaining the operational readiness of the recipient’s fleet of F-16 aircraft. The recipient will have no difficulty absorbing this equipment into its armed forces.”
Taiwan also awaits the delivery of 66 new F-16Vs by the end of the 2026, to help counter the increasing military threat posed by China.
