June 15, 2005 (by Lieven Dewitte) -
The US has agreed to extend a Taipei-Washington pact to train Taiwan's F16 pilots for five more years, a Taiwanese newspaper said yesterday.
RoCAF F-16A block 20 #6660 is passing overhead at Hua-lien AFB on November 13th, 2004. Note the new tail markings of the Taiwanese AF.
Quoting an unnamed US official, a Chinese-language newspaper said the US renewed the agreement for training Taiwanese F-16 pilots at Luke Airbase in Arizona for another five years, starting next year.
"The training program covers air-to-air combat, night attack, blockage over the sea, air engagement and air command," the paper said in a dispatch from Washington.
The US agreed to sell Taipei 150 F-16 warplanes in 1992 thus becoming the 18th F-16 customer.
The air force sent an F-16 squadron to the US in 1997 under a training program which ends at the end of this year. The program is conducted at the US Air Force's 56th Fighter Wing at Luke AFB in Arizona.
