Regarding the media coverage of “United States of America Offered an Exorbitant Price of $400 Billion for 66 Units of F-16V”, the Air Force Command Headquarters solemnly clarified today (7^th) that the three types of main fighter aircrafts have reached half way of their lifespan; in order to prospect future combat requirements, the command headquarters has begun the evaluation of advanced fighter aircrafts since 2003 according to the current enemy threats, and has incorporated the procurement operation of “10 Years of Military Conception”. The command headquarters adheres to comprehensive project establishment procedure, and proposes the requirements for advanced fighter aircrafts to the United States of America through official channel in order to reinforce the air defense combat capability of Taiwan and ensure national security.

The Air Force Command Headquarters emphasized that it will proceed with price negotiation subsequent to the reply from the United States of America since prices vary on different models of equipment. The media coverage that talk about how this procurement is “proposed by the USA”, related to the “presidential election” and “facilitates visitation to the USA for the president”, and “USA offered an exorbitant price of $400 billion” are merely speculation and are proven to be false information. The command headquarters hereby solemnly ask that the relevant media to correct the incorrect coverage and request all media to refrain from circulating verified sources to avoid creating confusions.