Illustration: Xia Qing/GT

Recent media attention has focused on Taiwan region's purchase of 66 F-16V (Blk 70) fighter jets from the US, the first two of which are now en route to the island. A mainland expert said the induction of these jets cannot change the cross-Straits air power balance. Their performance is comparable to the PLA's J-10C, but against the likes of J-16, J-20 and J-35, their tactical value is limited. The real gap, however, is not in individual aircraft, but in the PLA's already mature air combat system.

Taiwan region is beginning to receive the first operational aircraft from its 66-jet F-16V Block 70 order, reported Defence Security Asia on Saturday. The first two single-seat fighters, serials 6727 and 6728, departed the US on August 17, 2026, transited through Fort Worth and Hawaii, and were expected to continue through Guam before reaching Chihhang Air Base, weather permitting.

In addition to purchasing brand-new fighters, Taiwan region had previously cooperated with the US to upgrade 140 F-16A/B aircraft to the F-16V (Blk 20) standard. That upgrade work was fully completed in December 2023, according to CNA on August 19.

Taiwan region previously claimed that the F-16V (Blk 70), in addition to featuring increased thrust, airframe optimizations, extended range, and conformal fuel tanks, also enhances beyond-visual-range combat capability and partial stealth characteristics. It is equipped with an Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar, providing multiple functions including air-to-air search, tracking, weapons guidance, electronic warfare, and communications, according to the HK01.

The F-16V (Blk 70) is the newest variant of the F-16 family, Song Zhongping, a mainland military affairs expert, told the Global Times on Sunday. The PLA's mainstay fighters have already been widely equipped with AESA radars and are at the same technological generation as the F-16V (Blk 70). In comparison with the J-10C, both fall into the light-to-medium fighter category and have a degree of comparability.

However, comparing to a heavy fighter such as the J-16, and especially when facing fifth-generation aircraft like the J-20 and J-35 that possess a clear generational advantage, the F-16V has no edge at all. Constrained by its original medium-weight, single-engine design, the F-16V faces inherent gaps versus heavy fighters in range, payload, and upgrade potential, Song explained.

The expert pointed out that what decides victory or defeat is no longer the performance of individual aircraft, but the entire combat system behind them. 
Modern warfare is no longer a matter of "soldier versus soldier, general versus general." The PLA's advantage lies in its comprehensively overwhelming system-of-systems combat capability. It is not necessary to shoot down an F-16V in the air, it can also be destroyed on the ground, by striking its shelters or cratering runways so that it cannot take off or land, Song said.  

The F-16V does improve Taiwan region's individual aircraft capabilities, but once integrated into a system-of-systems combat environment, its ability to alter the overall situation is extremely limited, said Song.

A Xinhua News Agency report in March 2026 described how a certain PLA Air Force unit organized its three mainstay fighters, the J-20, J-16 and J-10C, to conduct multi-day-and-night air combat confrontation training covering situation sharing, coordinated strikes, electromagnetic countermeasures, and other subjects.

The Taiwan regional authorities' attempt to rely on these F-16Vs to "resist reunification by force" is no different from a mantis trying to stop a chariot, Song said. 

From August 5 to 14, the Taiwan regional authorities conducted this year's "Han Kuang" military exercises. A CCTV News report on August 14 noted that the Taiwan region's Han Kuang exercises have become an annual farce. The entire exercise was plagued by continuous controversies.

The so-called "Han Kuang" exercises have always been a hollow, wasteful spectacle. The Democratic Progressive Party authorities are hereby warned: the "Taiwan independence" dead end leads nowhere and cannot be altered. The PLA remains on high alert around the clock, continuously enhancing its combat readiness against separatist and external interference activities. It is, and will always be, the solid foundation for safeguarding national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and for maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits, Senior Colonel Chen Xi, a spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense, said on August 14.