| I wonder why the United States doesn't offer Taiwan, say, 150 additional refurbished old F-16s (the mothballed ones) in addition to, or instead of, the much-debated sale of 66 F-16C/D Block 52s. There are dozens if not hundreds of such Vipers in storage, from what I read.
These 150 refurbished Vipers would cost only about $4 billion, at most, which would be _half_ the price of the $8 billion price tag that the United States quoted for the hypothetical sale of the 66 C/D Block 52s. They would also be delivered sooner, probably than the F-16C/Ds. The refurbishment work could even be done in Taiwan itself, to provide jobs for Taiwan's domestic industry.
In the event of a massive Battle of Britain-like air battle over the Strait against China, it could be argued that 150 additional, refurbished Vipers would do Taiwan a lot more good than 66 brand-new C/Ds. The more airframes in the air, the better.
Taiwan's problems regarding its fighter pilot shortage would still persist, though. |
