Taiwan has recently signed a proposal by the United States to retrofit the country's aging F-16 A/B jet fighters to seal the arms sales deal, Taiwan's Air Force said Monday.
"It (the letter of acceptance) has been signed," Lt. Gen. Wu Wan-chiao, director of Air Force Command's Department of Political Warfare, told CNA in a telephone interview.
"The United States will now begin selecting the contractor (of the upgrade program)," Wu said.
The proposal, sent to Taipei by Washington in early May, contained listed prices totaling some US$3.8 billion that were in line with the budget approved by Taiwan's Cabinet, military officials have said.
Included in the retrofit of Taiwan's A/B fighters is the installation of Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar. Equipping the fighters with AESA radar is a new initiative, officials said.
Other items on the list include AIM-9X Sidewinder air-to-air missiles and Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) guidance kits, according to the officials.
The proposal came after the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama last September approved the sale of a retrofit and training package for the F-16 A/Bs instead of offering Taiwan the F-16 C/D fighters it had long wanted.
"It (the letter of acceptance) has been signed," Lt. Gen. Wu Wan-chiao, director of Air Force Command's Department of Political Warfare, told CNA in a telephone interview.
"The United States will now begin selecting the contractor (of the upgrade program)," Wu said.
The proposal, sent to Taipei by Washington in early May, contained listed prices totaling some US$3.8 billion that were in line with the budget approved by Taiwan's Cabinet, military officials have said.
Included in the retrofit of Taiwan's A/B fighters is the installation of Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar. Equipping the fighters with AESA radar is a new initiative, officials said.
Other items on the list include AIM-9X Sidewinder air-to-air missiles and Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) guidance kits, according to the officials.
The proposal came after the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama last September approved the sale of a retrofit and training package for the F-16 A/Bs instead of offering Taiwan the F-16 C/D fighters it had long wanted.
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