The Czech government has approved the $6.5 billion deal to purchase 24 advanced F-35 fighter jets from the United States, the largest defense contract ever signed by the Czech Republic.
Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala told the media that the first supersonic stealth fighter is expected to arrive by 2031, with all 24 planes at the disposal of the country’s military by 2035.
“The first F-35s will be ready in 2029 and our pilots will start training with them in the United States then,” Fiala said.
Fiala said the F-35s “will solve the future of our tactical air forces for dozens of years to come”.
“For our defense, it is important to boost our ties with NATO allies,” he said.
In the acquisition of F-35s, “we are telling our allies that we take the defense of our country seriously and that they can count on us”, Fiala said in a statement on social media.
He further stated that when evaluating the capabilities and service life of the aircraft in comparison to the cost, there is no superior solution to meet the tactical air force requirements of the Czech Republic’s Army in the coming decades.
US approved the deal in June
The US State Department granted approval for the sale of F-35 jets, munitions, and associated equipment to the Czech Republic in June this year. This decision aligns with the Czech Republic’s intent to replace its current fleet of 14 leased JAS-39 Gripen fighter jets from Sweden, which are presently utilized by the Czech army.
The F-35s would “improve the Czech Republic’s defense capabilities as well as support NATO operations by guarding against modern threats and maintaining a constant presence in the region,” the US government’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency had said in June.
Chief of the general staff of the Czech armed forces Lieutenant General Karel Rehka said that the new jets would ensure “that in the case of need, we’ll manage to effectively defend ourselves against aggression, together with our allies”.
Deal cost
Czech Defence Minister Jana Cernochova revealed that the state will allocate 150 billion Czech crowns ($6.47 billion) for the aircraft by 2034. The total cost encompasses the expenses related to the aircraft purchase, pilot training, ammunition, upgrades to the Caslav Air Force base in central Czech Republic, and fuel.
The announcement of the F-35 deal comes as the Czech government plans to spend two percent of its gross domestic product on defense, in line with its NATO pledge.
Manufactured by Lockheed Martin and featuring anti-detection stealth technology, F-35s are in service not only within NATO but also in countries such as Australia, Japan, Israel, and South Korea. Additionally, neutral countries like Switzerland have also entered agreements to acquire these planes, first introduced in 2006.
The Czech army recently bought US-made Viper combat helicopters and Venom multi-purpose helicopters, replacing obsolete Russian-made Mi-24 helicopters, some of which it has sent to Ukraine.