TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The first of 66 F-16V Block 70 fighter jets ordered by Taiwan rolled out of a factory in South Carolina Friday in the presence of a vice defense minister and Taipei’s representative in the US.

Taiwan procured the jets for approximately NT$263.43 billion (US$8 billion) with delivery scheduled to be completed by the end of 2026. An earlier program to upgrade 140 F-16A/B to F-16V Block 20 level ended in 2023.

The launch ceremony took place at a Lockheed Marietta factory in the city of Greenville, per CNA. Congress Member William Timmons addressed the event, and posted a picture on X showing him in the company of Vice Defense Minister Po Hung-hui (柏鴻輝) and Taiwan’s top envoy in Washington, Alexander Yui (俞大㵢).

In his X post, Timmons said it was an honor to speak at the delivery ceremony. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” he wrote.

The new jets are expected to be based at Zhihang Air Base in Taitung. The Air Force also plans to spend an additional NT$4 billion on an extension of the pilot training program at Morris Air National Guard Base in Arizona.