The State Department has approved a potential $500 million deal with Taiwan covering infrared search and track (IRST) systems for its fleet of F-16 fighter jets.
The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) notified Congress on Wednesday of the new foreign military sale.
“This proposed sale serves U.S. national, economic, and security interests by supporting the recipient’s continuing efforts to modernize its armed forces and to maintain a credible defensive capability. 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,” the DSCA said in a statement.
Along with the IRST systems for the Lockheed Martin [LMT]-built F-16s, the new FMS case also includes support and equipment for integration and testing, aircraft and munitions support equipment, software delivery and spare parts, according to the State Department.
“The proposed sale will improve the recipient’s capability to meet current and future threats by contributing to the recipient’s abilities to defend its airspace, provide regional security, and increase interoperability with the United States through its F-16 program,” the DSCA said.
Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.), chair of the new House Select Committee on China, urged Congress earlier this year, after returning from a trip to Taipei, to address the reported $19 billion backlog of FMS cases with Taiwan, which includes an $8 billion deal approved in August 2019 for dozens more F-16s (Defense Daily, Feb. 24).
“I return from my trip to Taiwan even more convinced that the time to arm Taiwan to the teeth was yesterday. Taiwan is on the frontlines of authoritarian expansion. We must surge hard power west of the international date line in order to deter a Chinese Communist Party invasion before it’s too late,” Gallagher said in a statement following his visit. “In particular, we should move heaven and earth to clear the nearly $19 billion backlog of Foreign Military Sales Items that have been approved but not delivered to Taiwan.”
The State Department in early March also approved a potential $618 million deal with Taiwan covering missiles for its F-16s, to include 100 High-Speed Anti-Radiation Missiles (HARM) and 200 AIM-120C-8 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM), both built by RTX [RTX] (Defense Daily, March 2).
In late July, the Biden administration confirmed plans to provide Taiwan with $345 million in weapons pulled from existing Pentagon inventories using the Presidential Drawdown Authority.
While the Pentagon has declined to detail specific systems in the new $345 million weapons aid package for Taiwan, a senior department official has said it includes “asymmetric capabilities” for areas such as multi-domain awareness and air defense (Defense Daily, Aug. 1).