US Air Force hires CAE to keep Taiwan's F-16 training simulators running until 2032

The US Air Force has awarded CAE USA a contract worth about $14.8 million to support the mission training centres that Taiwan's air force uses for its F-16 Block 20V and Block 70 fighters, keeping that simulator network supplied and maintained until the end of January 2032. The Pentagon listed the award in its contract announcements on 2 November, and the contract itself was signed on 28 October.

The sole-source, hybrid firm-fixed-price deal covers contractor logistics support, management of spare parts, travel, data and dislocation costs. It is a Foreign Military Sales case paid for by Taiwan, and about $2.23 million was obligated when it was signed, roughly 15 percent of its total value, which points to the work being funded in stages over several years. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio is the contracting office.

Where the work will be done

Work in Taiwan will take place at Chiayi, Hualien and Taitung, with a US portion at Morris Air National Guard Base in Tucson, Arizona. According to Defense WarRoom, the three Taiwanese locations match the home bases of the air force's F-16 wings: the 4th Tactical Fighter Wing at Chiayi, the first unit to field the upgraded F-16V in November 2021; the 5th Tactical Composite Wing at Hualien; and the 7th Tactical Fighter Wing at Chihhang air base in Taitung, which was set up on 1 December 2023 to receive the Block 70.

Tucson is the American end of the training pipeline. The Arizona Air National Guard's 162nd Wing is the US Air Force's centre for training foreign F-16 pilots, and the 21st Fighter Squadron, which trains Taiwanese pilots and maintainers, moved there from Luke Air Force Base in 2022. Taiwan is sending aircrew and maintenance personnel to the United States in groups for Block 70 conversion training.

From building simulators to running them

The new award moves CAE's Taiwan work from delivering training devices toward keeping them running. In early 2025 the company received an $18.37 million contract to develop and deliver software for the Block 20V mission training centres, with that work due to finish by the end of 2026, the Fort Worth Report said at the time. In January 2026 the Air Force added a $69.9 million Phase II order for the Block 70 training simulator programme, lifting that contract's total value to about $128 million, with completion due by August 2028, according to Defense Mirror.

The timing follows the arrival of the new jets. Taiwan accepted its first two new-build Block 70 fighters at Chihhang on 2 October, the start of 66 aircraft ordered under a Foreign Military Sales case worth roughly $8 billion that was approved in 2019 and whose deliveries were first meant to begin in 2023. The new aircraft join around 140 older F-16A and F-16B jets that have already been upgraded to the Block 20V standard.

What is still unclear

The Pentagon notice does not say how many training devices the contract covers, how the effort is divided between the Block 20V and Block 70 simulators, or what the futures label attached to the logistics support means in practice. CAE has said its F-16 training devices combine high-fidelity flight and aerodynamic models with the aircraft's systems, weapons and sensors.

Why it matters

Simulators let aircrews rehearse operational procedures and mission scenarios in a controlled setting, which saves flying hours on real aircraft. As Taiwan absorbs a new fighter type while keeping its upgraded fleet in service, this contract is meant to keep that training infrastructure available through the early 2030s rather than letting it lapse once the original device purchases are finished.