@@kesrjiofd57 1.First tier: F-22, F-35, and F-15EX will be used to attack enemy sites directly and engage in air-to-air combat (dogfight) as needed. 2.Aircraft carrier-capable: F-18 (for the U.S. Navy only) and F-35B. 3. F-16: Standby in allied airbases. Not intended to fulfill roles 1 and 2.
You can wait for year 2040, US gov sold retired and obsolete F-15 and F-18 to Taiwan like a junk. Since US, JP, SG , SK, NATO, Israel have Gen-6 airjets there. Dumped aged & useless F-15 & F-18 to Taiwan to let Taiwanese jump there like froggggggg.
USD $500M spent by Taiwan Gov only can buy IRST 20 to 30 unit but in US Air force can buy 40* Unit. It needs wait for brand new F-16v deployed in year 2026 to fit 20-30 unit IRST. J-20 has 150* unit now, is a big one to be happy to have very limited IRST after year 2026 ?
1. USD $500M in US Airforce can purchase about 40x Units of IRST, but in Taiwan Airforce only can get about 20 to 30 Units due to commission & margin have to be taken by US Government, Military Contractors and other under table channels.
Taiwan has requested to buy the F-35 from the US. However this has been rejected by the US in fear of a critical response from China. In March 2009 Taiwan again was looking to buy U.S. fifth-generation fighter jets featuring stealth and vertical takeoff capabilities.[citation needed] However, in September 2011, during a visit to the US, the Deputy Minister of National Defense of Taiwan confirmed that while the country was busy upgrading its current F-16s it was still also looking to procure a next-generation aircraft such as the F-35. This received the usual critical response from China.Taiwan renewed its push for an F-35 purchase under the Presidency of Donald Trump in early 2017, again causing criticism from China. In March 2018, Taiwan once again reiterated its interest in the F-35 in light of an anticipated round of arms procurement from the United States. The F-35B STOVL variant is reportedly the political favorite as it would allow the Republic of China Air Force to continue operations after its limited number of runways were to be bombed in an escalation with the People's Republic of China. In April 2018 however it became clear that the U.S. government was reluctant about selling the F-35 to Taiwan over worries of Chinese spies within the Taiwanese Armed Forces, possibly compromising classified data concerning the aircraft and granting Chinese military officials access. In November 2018, it was reported that Taiwanese military leadership had abandoned the procurement of the F-35 in favor of a larger number of F-16V Viper aircraft. The decision was reportedly motivated by concerns about industry independence, as well as cost and previously raised espionage concerns