Taiwan renews push for modern U.S. F-16 fighters

[Coventina]

Source: Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Taiwan has renewed a drive to buy advanced U.S.-built F-16 fighter aircraft, confronting President Barack Obama with a delicate decision.

Detailing its arms shopping list for the first time since Obama took office, Taipei's de facto embassy in Washington said its current fighter force was inadequate to a potential threat from China across the 110-mile- wide Taiwan Strait.

The largest part of Taiwan's air force, F-5 fighters, have been in service for more than 34 years, said a spokesman for the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office.

"The planes now are obsolete and spare parts are difficult to obtain," spokesman Vance Chang said in an email response to questions about Taiwan's arms requests.



Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/reutersEdge/idUSTRE52E1C820090315

[Hulk]

1. Hey...this is all we export anymore.....weapons of mass destruction...

Don't put a stop to our fabulous killing machine. Hell, we don't make anything else. So fighter jets, rocket launchers, assault weapons, grenades, land mines.....you name it, we make and export it.

Yup, we are one proud nation of "producers". And then we'll come over in a few years and kick your butts and you can shoot at us with our own exports. How's that sound to ya??

[RC]

2. Selling death is such a reliable money maker.

[hack89]

3. You don't understand our economy very well, do you?

http://nam.org/~/media/Files/State_Data/US_National_Data.ashx

[dos pelos]

4. We should do this...

Taiwan is worth supporting.A little material support and they can defend themselves.This would not be a wasted useless effort like Afghanistan.We have real interests and allies in the western pacific that we should help.

[ConcernedCanuk]

6. Baloney - short of nukes, Taiwan could never stand an onslaught from China

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I think they best just try to negotiate with China

If the USA supplies Taiwan with weapons to "defend" itself from China

What would be the difference if China supplied Cuba with weapons to "defend" itself from the USA?

Ever since Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the USA has ruled the World with the threat of it's military might

Too bad it hasn't ruled the World with kindness and generosity

USA could have indeed been a great nation

Now they are just the bully on the block

(sigh)

[Psephos]

8. You have any other tunes on your iPod, or just that one? n/'t

[Mudoria]

14. He's like a broken record

[ConcernedCanuk]

16. I don't own an iPod, don't even know what they look like - what's your point?

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I know one USAmerican up here - and she is as obtuse as you are

What is with that?

[Igel]

9. No, Taiwan couldn't withstand a Chinese onslaught.

But they should be sure to make China pay for any "kindness and generosity" involved in restoring all Chinese to the Fatherland in the interest of nationalist and ethnic unity. We've seen the "kindness and generosity" heaped upon the Han themselves, as well as upon the Tibetans and Uighurs.

After all, it's bad enough that the Formosans are a minority in their own land. By all means, let's make their situation "progressively" worse.

[Coventina]

13. You just don't get it, do you?

The USA is the ONLY bad guy out there. And EVERYTHING we do is bad.

Don't think I need this, but just in case: :sarcasm:

[treestar]

5. See, we do make things in this country!

We make big things, not little things!

[Optical.Catalyst]

7. The United States should push for modern F-16 fighters rather than the unnecessary F-35

We allready have an airplane that is good enough for future missions for the next decade, we don't need nor can we afford the new F-35 fighters.

The UAE’s F-16 Block 60 Desert Falcon Fleet


22-Feb-2009 14:22 EST

The most advanced F-16s in the world, however, are not American. That distinction belongs to the United Arab Emirates, whose F-16 E/F Block 60s are a generation ahead of the F-16 C/D Block 50/52+ aircraft that form the backbone of the US Air Force and many other fleets around the world. The Block 60 has been described as a lower-budget alternative to the forthcoming F-35A Joint Strike Fighter – and is being treated as such in countries like India and the Netherlands, as they contemplate their future fighter needs.

http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/the-uaes-f-16-block-60-desert-falcon-fleet-04538/#more-4538

[Vehl]

10. hmnn

I doubt India would go for the F-16 cos they do not like the American Habit of withholding sale of military hardware to countries they do not agree with. And Indian government had said the same thing ...if i rem correctly.


They are more than happy with their Su30MKI's which not only are a joint project between Russia and India but also come with full technology transfer. And the avionics in that plane are not the outdated Russian ones but newer French/Indian/Israeli ones.


and they are almost half the price of the F16...and the SU30MKI varient is much more advanced than the f16 except for the AESA radar. but that's temporary though cos the new Russian AESA radar is supposed to be available in a few years.

[davidinalameda]

11. not only yes

but hell yes

it not only provides jobs to Americans but it shows support for another democracy

[Idealism]

12. Pretty useless to Taiwan

If China wants Taiwai and decides so militarily, a few dozen F-16s won't mean much in the face of an amphibious landing of the largest army on the planet.

[mainegreen]

15. We should sell them.

Taiwan is not really renowned as an evil, cruel, dictatorial country that loves making war, is it?
They'll buy them for self-defense which is a-ok.

They are a partner and a friend of the US and we should treat them that way.