President Tsai Ing-wen, center, yesterday presides over the opening ceremony of a maintenance center for F-16s in Taichung alongside National Security Council Secretary-General Wellington Koo, third right, Minister of National Defense Yen De-fa, third left, and others. The maintenance center “will significantly reduce maintenance time and increase fighter jet availability,-- ensuring air superiority on the front lines of national defense,” she said. Expounding on her mantra that “peace depends on national defense,” Tsai said that national defense efforts could also be used to spur industrial development by creating industry chains, technology transfers and better training. One of her top priorities is to allow local vendors to participate in production and maintenance work connected with the center, Tsai said. Taiwan would soon have more than 200 F-16s, he said, adding that with a system availability of about 70 to 80 percent, about 40 fighter jets would always be undergoing maintenance.

Source: Taipei Times August 28, 2020 15:56 UTC