Taiwan's long-delayed F-16V fighter deal is finally delivering hardware, a boost for the island's air defense at a time of rising pressure from China.

• Two of the 66 new F-16V Block 70 jets Taiwan bought from the US took off from American soil on August 17 and are due to arrive shortly.
• The trans-Pacific flight needs mid-air refueling and rest stops along the way, and will likely follow the old Texas–Hawaii–Guam–Taiwan route.
• All 66 jets were supposed to reach Taiwan this year, but a factory move and broken supply chains pushed the schedule back.
• Lockheed Martin is now running two shifts, 20 hours a day, to catch up on the backlog.
• Taiwan is spending roughly NT$247 billion on the jets, on top of an earlier program that upgraded 140 older F-16s.

Outlook: The rest of the 66 aircraft should trickle in over the coming months, with deliveries running past the original deadline.