The two sides entered several rounds of negotiation before a final agreement was met on that deal, the source added. The F-16V will feature an AN/APG-83 active electronically scanned array radar, an upgraded mission computer system and cockpit improvements. The nation has 144 F-16s all of which are to be upgraded, the source said, adding that the original NT$110 billion was expected to be paid by 2023. The cost increase means that military budgets for the next six years will need to be adjusted, the source said. The source said that while the government might have known that purchasing the ARM and JSOW systems would increase costs, officials suggested that the purchase of the weapons could be put on hold.

Source: Taipei Times September 16, 2017 16:18 UTC