Taipei has complained of repeated delays to weapons ordered from the United States, its most ​important international backer and arms supplier.

The delivery, to Taitung's Chihhang Air Base on the island's mountainous ⁠east coast, comes amid growing concern in Taiwan about the Trump administration's commitment to arming Taipei, despite Washington saying there ​has been no change in policy.

The aircraft, which flew via Hawaii and Guam, touched down at noon (0400 GMT), Reuters reported.

Speaking to reporters at ​parliament in Taipei shortly before, Defense Minister Wellington Koo said there would be other new F-16Vs arriving soon, though he did not give details.

The US in 2019 approved an $8 billion sale of Lockheed Martin ​F-16V fighter jets to Taiwan, a deal that would take the island's F-16 fleet to more than 200 jets. But ​issues including software problems have delayed delivery of the planes.

The arrival of the first two aircraft came almost exactly a week after US ‌President Donald ⁠Trump met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Washington.

Trump said in May, after meeting Xi in Beijing, that he was holding a new $14 billion package for Taiwan in abeyance, though he did approve one worth $11 billion in December 2025.