Ahead of securing the complete delivery of 66 F-16 Viper jets, Taiwan has decided to build new aircraft shelters in the Eastern region.
Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense’s 2026 budget plan revealed that the military plans to build new hangars for its F-16V fighter jets.
The project has a provision for 24 hangars, taxiways, and auxiliary facilities at Taitung’s Chihhang Air Base, Taiwan News reported. It is estimated to cost about US$121.89 million and will be completed by 2028.
According to local media reports, the first batch of the F-16V fighter jets will be delivered by Lockheed Martin to the 7th Tactical Fighter Wing in Chihhang. The Air Force Command reportedly announced that the new hangars and other facilities are being designed to aid maintenance, training, and support the personnel as the F-16V fleet expands.
Located at the eastern coast of the self-ruled island, the Chihhang Air Base is known for its fortified underground facilities, including aircraft shelters carved into mountainsides.
Separately, the Taiwan Security Monitor, a student-powered research initiative reporting on Taiwan’s security, said in a post on X that the RoCAF plans to significantly expand hardened protection at Chihhang AFB to protect future F-16C/D Block 70 fighters by 2028.
These claims could not be independently verified. However, if true, it would be a direct countermeasure to ensure its air force remains operational in a conflict scenario, particularly given China’s stated goal of seizing air dominance through surprise attacks.
China considers Taiwan a renegade province and has made no bones about its intentions to seize the island state, with force, if necessary. In general, Taiwan’s defensive strategy vis-à-vis its F-16 Vipers includes dispersing aircraft to eastern bases, using dummy aircraft, and maintaining emergency highway strips for takeoffs and landings. All to increase survivability and ensure continued operations.
Hardened aircraft shelters (HAS) are also part of this strategy. They are designed to protect Taiwan’s fighter jets, such as F-16Vs, from missile and drone strikes, which could target airfields to cripple Taiwan’s air force and obliterate all defense.
Notably, the increasing frequency of Chinese military activities, such as intrusions into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ), has renewed urgency for robust air base resilience.
While the presence of new hardened shelters cannot be confirmed at this point, the plan to build new hangars shows preparations are in full swing in Taiwan as they welcome additional F-16 Vipers to bolster their fleet.
Taiwanese F-16 Vipers Against China
Taiwan received the first of 66 F-16 Viper fighter jets ordered from Lockheed Martin in March this year. At the time, Joseph Wu, the Secretary-General of Taiwan’s National Security Council, posted a photo of himself standing in front of an F-16 with the caption: “We’ll soon have 66 new F-16 Vipers (block70) to protect our sky.”
Taiwan’s acquisition of the F-16V is part of a larger military modernization effort launched by successive pro-democracy governments to thwart a potential Chinese invasion.
Taiwan is currently upgrading 139 of its F-16s to the Viper variant and acquiring new F-16Vs under the “Peace Phoenix Rising” initiative in addition to the off-the-shelf purchase of 66 fighters. The delivery of all 66 F-16 Vipers is expected to conclude by the end of 2026.
The F-16V is expected to be Taiwan’s most advanced aerial combat asset and the cornerstone of its air force. The 4++ gen F-16 Viper would be pitted against the Chinese fifth-generation stealth fighters in the event of an invasion, punching far above its weight.
Despite being a 4++ generation fighter, the enhanced F-16V presents many advanced features courtesy of its upgraded avionics suite. The aircraft features the Northrop Grumman AN/APG-83 Scalable Agile Beam Radar (SABR) with its active electronically scanned array (AESA). The cutting-edge radar technology increases resilience to electronic countermeasures, improves target-spotting capabilities for low-signature objects like cruise missiles, and extends detection and engagement ranges.
The F-16V’s upgraded center pedestal display enhances tactical situational awareness by giving the pilot access to data gathered by the SABR and other sensors.
The upgrades include a sniper aiming pod, Link 16, a cueing system installed on the helmet, precise GPS navigation, enhanced weapon capability, an upgraded modular mission computer, and an Ethernet high-speed data network. The aircraft’s wings, fuselage, and landing gear have also received several structural upgrades that have improved their functionality and sustainability. Additionally, it allows for a higher takeoff and landing weight than its predecessor, the F-16 A/B variant.
Taiwan would be able to operate the aircraft for longer, with fewer hindrances, because the newly constructed F-16Vs will have a 12,000-hour service life, in contrast to the 8,000-hour service life of previous F-16s.
The upgraded F-16V fleet also boasts increased versatility in its armament, with provisions for heavy weapon payloads. These weapons include the AGM-84 Harpoon missile, which is well-known for its capability in anti-shipping roles, as well as more advanced weapons like the AGM-154 Joint Stand-Off Weapon (JSOW) for precision strikes and the AGM-88 High-Speed Anti-Radiation (HARM) missile for defense suppression.
Taiwan is also reportedly buying the JASSM for its F-16V. The missile is highly precise, durable, and more resistant to electronic warfare, including GPS jamming.
To counter the stealth threat posed by China’s fifth-generation J-20 and J-35 and their many variants, the US approved the sale of infrared search and tracking systems (IRSTs) to Taiwan in August 2023, which would allow Taiwanese F-16s to detect J-20s relatively early. IRST uses heat signals that radiate from its target to detect it, as opposed to radar, which uses radio wave reflection to detect targets.
Stealth aircraft have low radar observability, but their infrared radiation can only be decreased, not completely removed.
Chinese experts believe that J-20s could outperform the F-16 in beyond-visual-range combat. The J-20’s combination of stealth, radar capabilities, and long-range missiles could provide a significant advantage.
However, that has not dissuaded Taiwan from launching an all-around effort at bolstering its combat capability and advancing pilot training on these cutting-edge American fighters.
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