One of the biggest military purchases can be changed at the last minute. Slovakia is interested in modern F-35s
Do they still want to change one of our biggest military purchases in a hurry? There are reports that the Department of Defense could cancel the order of American F-16 fighters and replace them with more modern F-35s. Minister of Defense Jaroslav Naď denies this information.
The purchase of American F-16 fighters was also signed by the government of Petr Pellegrini. At that time, it was by far the largest military purchase of one and a half billion euros.
The first pieces were supposed to come to us two years ago, but everything was postponed by the coronary crisis. We will get the F-16s at the earliest in 2024 and the Czech server idnes.cz the latest, that they would not have to come to us at all.
Some high-ranking Slovak officials are considering ordering the F-16tok. The manufacturers probably did not have logistical problems, as there are still a large number of customers for this type of aircraft. Minister Naď denies the information.
In Bratislava corridors, it is said that they would go the way of buying fifth-generation fighters, such as modern F-35s.
The fighters are to be supplied by Lockheed Martin. In addition to Slovakia, Bahrain is also waiting for the F-16s. It is questionable whether ours have already begun to be actually produced, but the military expert says that it is too late to withdraw from the contract in any case.
“At a time when the vast majority of this price has already been paid, the pilots are training, so we probably had to give some compensation to Lockheed Martin,” says General Pavel Macko. In addition, he adds that the F-16 model is similar to the F-35s. Macko confirms that the F-16s are high quality machines, but a little older.
The Minister of Defense also adds another argument, which speaks against the more modern F-35s. They would definitely be more expensive.
You can watch the report above in the video.