Many people are still analyzing the possibility of the Philippines' F-16V fighter jets launching a surprise attack on Scarborough Shoal and engaging in battle with J-20 stealth fighters. In reality, the Philippines will never have F-16V fighter jets.
With the military budget that the Philippines has, how could they afford to buy 20 F-16V fighter jets worth $5.5 billion? The Philippines recently ordered 12 FA-50 light fighters, with an expected expenditure of $700 million, which is already enough to make them bleed money. It's equivalent to the entire military budget saved by the Philippine Air Force over at least seven years.
The last time the Philippine Air Force purchased fighter jets from the United States was in the 1970s with the F-5A fighter jets. Now, all of a sudden, they want to leapfrog two eras and directly equip themselves with F-16V fighter jets. Given the Philippines' technical support, training, maintenance capabilities, they would be unable to fully utilize the combat capability of the F-16V fighter jets.
Why are the F-16V fighter jets sold to the Philippines by the United States so expensive? It's not because the planes themselves are too expensive; it's because the Philippines' infrastructure is too weak. Therefore, everything from training, maintenance, support, command, navigation systems needs to be purchased, and all airports, hangars, fuel centers need to be upgraded. They don't even have any aviation bombs.
No money, no technology, no talent, and no facilities. At least within the next 10 to 15 years, the Philippines will not be able to equip themselves with F-16V fighter jets.
Source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1828916209033227/
Disclaimer: The article solely represents the views of the author.