US offers helicopters to Slovakia for giving jets to Ukraine美国向斯洛伐克提供直升机，以换取斯洛伐克向乌克兰提供喷气式飞机。
Bratislava would pay $340 million for the Bell AH-1Z attack choppers in a deal worth about $1 billion that also includes 500 AGM-114 Hellfire II missiles.
BRATISLAVA, Slovakia — The United States has offered Slovakia 12 new military helicopters as compensation for the MiG-29 fighter jets the European country is giving to Ukraine, Slovakia’s defense minister said Wednesday.
Under the offer, Slovakia would pay $340 million for the Bell AH-1Z attack choppers in a deal worth about $1 billion that also includes 500 AGM-114 Hellfire II missiles and training, Defense Minister Jaroslav Nad said.
U.S. foreign military financing would cover the other $660 million, he said. The European Union also would send Slovakia 200 million euros ($213 million) in additional compensation, Nad said.
The Slovak government still needs to accept the offer.
Nad said his country’s armed forces currently don’t have any combat helicopters and that the deal would “significantly increase the defense capability of Slovakia.”
On Friday, the Slovak government approved a plan to give Ukraine its fleet of 13 Soviet-era MiG-29 fighter jets, becoming the second NATO member country to heed the Ukrainian government’s pleas for warplanes to help defend against Russia’s invasion.
Slovakia grounded its MiGs in the summer due to a lack of spare parts and expertise to help maintain them. Fellow NATO members Poland and the Czech Republic stepped in to monitor Slovak air space.
Slovakia previously signed a deal to buy 14 U.S. F-16 Block 70/72 fighter jets, but delivery was pushed back two years with the first aircraft to arrive in early 2024.
斯洛伐克布拉迪斯拉发——斯洛伐克国防部长周三表示，美国已向斯洛伐克提供 12 架新型军用直升机，作为斯洛伐克向乌克兰提供米格-29 战斗机的补偿。
国防部长雅罗斯拉夫·纳德表示，根据该提议，斯洛伐克将支付 3.4 亿美元购买贝尔 AH-1Z 攻击直升机，这笔价值约 10 亿美元的交易还包括 500 枚 AGM-114 地狱火 II 型导弹和培训。
他表示，美国对外军事援助将支付剩余的6.6亿美元。纳德还说，欧盟也将向斯洛伐克提供2亿欧元（约合2.13亿美元）的额外补偿。
斯洛伐克政府仍需接受该提议。
纳德表示，斯洛伐克武装部队目前没有任何作战直升机，这项交易将“显著提高斯洛伐克的国防能力”。
周五，斯洛伐克政府批准了一项计划，将向乌克兰提供其13架苏联时代的米格-29战斗机，成为第二个响应乌克兰政府请求，提供战机以帮助抵御俄罗斯入侵的北约成员国。
由于缺乏备件和维修技术，斯洛伐克在夏季停飞了其米格战机。北约同盟国波兰和捷克共和国介入，负责监视斯洛伐克领空。
斯洛伐克此前签署了一项购买 14 架美国 F-16 Block 70/72 战斗机的协议，但交付时间被推迟了两年，第一架飞机将于 2024 年初交付。