Defense Minister Wellington Koo said today that the U.S. has set up a special
task office to help ensure timely delivery of weaponry, and that his Ministry
is doing its utmost to speed up delivery of three U.S. arms procurement
projects.

They include 66 F-16V fighter jets, which were scheduled for delivery
starting in 2024 and to be completed by 2026.

However, Taiwan has yet to receive the first one, while it has already paid
60 percent of the $247 billion NT budget for the project.

Koo said the U.S. has now adopted a two-shift, 20-hour work schedule to speed
up production, while Taiwan continues to strengthen oversight of contract
fulfillment.

On AGM-154C missiles and MK-48 heavy torpedoes, Koo said deliveries were
initially planned for this year and next, but have been postponed to 2028.

He said the main reasons for the delay were the adoption of the latest
missile variant, production line reactivation, material preparation, and
system integration work.

(JL)