Czech Republic selects F-35 as next fighter jet

WARSAW, Poland — The Czech government has decided to launch negotiations with the United States to buy 24 F-35 Lightning II fighter jets for the country’s Air Force.

The aircraft are to replace the 14 Saab JAS 39 Gripens currently operated by the Czech military, making the country the second Eastern European ally after Poland to order Lockheed Martin’s fighters.

“I was authorised to form an inter-ministerial negotiating team and commence negotiations with the United States government to procure 24 units of the F-35 Lightning II multirole fighters to equip two squadrons,” Czech Defense Minister Jana Černochová said in a statement.

Prague will continue to lease the Gripen C/D jets until the end of 2027 when the contract expires.

“Our decision to select this option is based on the analysis by the Czech Armed Forces, which clearly articulates that only the most advanced 5th-generation fighters will be able to meet mission requirements in future battlefields,” Černochová said.

The value of the potential deal was not disclosed by the Czech ministry.

In January 2020, Polish National Defence Minister Mariusz Blaszczak signed a contract worth some $4.6 billion under which Poland’s Air Force will acquire 32 F-35A Lightning II jets along with a training and logistics package. Warsaw aims to replace its outdated Soviet-designed Sukhoi Su-22 and Mikoyan MiG-29 fighters with the fifth-generation jets. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in 2024.

Jaroslaw Adamowski is the Poland correspondent for Defense News.

波兰华沙——捷克政府已决定与美国展开谈判，为该国空军购买 24 架 F-35 闪电 II 战斗机。

这些飞机将取代捷克军队目前使用的 14 架萨博 JAS 39 鹰狮战斗机，使捷克成为继波兰之后第二个订购洛克希德·马丁公司战斗机的东欧盟国。

捷克国防部长雅娜·切尔诺霍娃在一份声明中表示：“我已获授权组建一个跨部门谈判小组，并开始与美国政府进行谈判，以采购24架F-35闪电II多用途战斗机，用于装备两个中队。”

布拉格将继续租赁鹰狮C/D型战斗机，直至2027年底合同到期。

“我们选择这一方案是基于捷克武装部队的分析，该分析明确指出，只有最先进的第五代战斗机才能满足未来战场上的任务要求，”Černochová说道。

捷克政府部门并未透露这笔潜在交易的具体金额。

2020年1月，波兰国防部长马里乌什·布瓦什恰克签署了一份价值约46亿美元的合同，根据该合同，波兰空军将采购32架F-35A“闪电II”战斗机以及相应的培训和后勤保障。华沙方面计划用这款第五代战斗机替换其老旧的苏-22和米格-29战斗机。预计将于2024年开始交付。

Jaroslaw Adamowski 是《防务新闻》驻波兰记者。