Under PLA pressure, Taiwan’s F-16V fighter jets get new US missiles
- Warplanes have been fitted with AIM-9X Sidewinder missiles, air force says
- They are scrambled to respond to regular People’s Liberation Army sorties
The Taiwanese air force said the AIM-9X Sidewinder missiles were bought from the United States and had recently been allocated to its F-16 Viper squadrons, which are scrambled to respond to PLA fly-bys.
The new missiles were delivered to Taiwan and installed in accordance with the scheduled plan, an air force spokesman said on Monday.
He added that all aircraft on standby to shadow PLA warplanes had to be fitted with weapons in line with combat readiness regulations.
A separate source with the air force said all 64 of Taiwan’s F-16Vs at the 4th Tactical Fighter Wing in Chiayi, in the southwest, had been fitted with AIM-9X Block II missiles to improve their tracking and precision-strike capabilities.
“In addition to the AIM-9X [missiles], an AIM-120 advanced medium-range air-to-air missile has also been mounted on one side of the fighter jets,” the source said.
F-16Vs at the 5th Tactical Fighter Wing in Hualien, in the island’s east, were also being fitted with those missiles, the person added.
AIM-9X missiles were used by the United States to shoot down an alleged Chinese spy balloon in US airspace in February.