美台商業協會 (U.S.-Taiwan Business Council)在2012年針對台灣空軍F-16升級案所作的簡報中提到:Because Taiwan is currently the launch customer for several key upgrade items (the structural upgrade, the new MMC, the AESA radar, etc.), non-recurring engineering (NRE) costs are also likely to be substantial. 所謂non-recurring engineering (NRE)在一般的合約會這樣簽訂:另產品開發所投入之研發費用(NRE, Non-Recurring Engineering)應約定由客戶負擔。 F-16V是由臺灣&洛馬合資研發,所以之後任何(包含美軍)F-16升級如果有用到F-16V的套裝組件,均需按比例攤提研發費用。 至於合約內容則屬商業機密。