Taiwan’s latest military crash involving an upgraded F-16 fighter jet has sparked fresh scrutiny of the readiness of the island’s ageing arsenal amid the sustained high-tempo demands of cross-strait tensions.
The episode on Tuesday has sharpened debate over whether upgrades and new armament purchases can realistically keep pace with increasing wear, maintenance constraints and the rapid modernisation of mainland China’s forces, according to lawmakers and analysts.
The incident involved an F-16V single-seat fighter (tail number 6700) from the Taiwanese air force’s Hualien Base in eastern Taiwan that went missing after its pilot, Captain Hsin Po-yi, apparently ejected during a routine night training flight over waters off Hualien, according to the island’s air force.
The air force…
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