BANGKOK – Vietnam has reached an agreement with the United States to buy F-16 fighter jets, a defense website said, citing industry representatives and a former U.S. government official.
Hanoi will acquire at least 24 of the Lockheed Martin single-engine fighters which, combined with other U.S. military ware, could add up to the biggest ever defense deal between two countries, 19FortyFive said Saturday. It is likely Hanoi will opt for the F-16 V model, which Lockheed calls the most advanced fourth-generation fighter, the site said.
The U.S. is also considering selling Lockheed Martin’s Hercules C-130 military transport plane to Vietnam, according to Reuters news agency. The U.S. lifted a longstanding arms embargo on its former enemy Vietnam in 2016.
In 2022, Hanoi said it was ready to reduce its heavy reliance on Russian arms, which accounted for around 80% of total weapons imports at the time.
A year later, during then-President Joe Biden’s visit to Hanoi, Vietnam and the U.S. began talking in earnest about a major deal.
It may have come to fruition this month, after Vietnam scrambled to cut its record trade surplus with the U.S. in the face of threatened 46% tariffs.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said earlier in April that Vietnam would buy more American weapons as part of addressing the trade imbalance between the two countries.
The Vietnamese foreign ministry did not answer Radio Free Asia’s calls about the reported F-16 deal. An email to the U.S. State Department was unanswered at the time of publication.
US military trainers
In November last year, Vietnam received delivery of five Beechcraft single engine turboprop aircraft, the first batch of 12 ordered from the U.S.
The planes, built by Textron Aviation, are used to train fighter jet pilots, which sparked speculation a deal on the F-16 was close.
Russia has supplied most of Vietnam’s military planes, including 35 Sukhoi Su-30s and more than 30 Su-22s but there has been growing concern about safety and maintenance of the ageing fleet.
At the start of last year, a Vietnam Air Force Su-22 tactical fighter-bomber lost control and crashed during a routine training flight in Quang Nam province.
In November, a Russian Yak-130 training aircraft exploded mid-air in Binh Dinh province. Its two pilots ejected and survived.
Chinese concerns
Military deals with the U.S. could alarm Vietnam’s communist neighbor China, whose president and defense minister both visited Vietnam this month.
China’s state-backed Global Times newspaper was critical of possible U.S.-Vietnam military ties when the Biden administration raised the prospect of F-16 sales two years ago.
It cited defense experts as saying a deal “serving the U.S.’ hegemonic goals of containing China, would stir up troubles that sabotage peace and stability in the region.”
Edited by Taejun Kang and Stephen Wright