"The agreement will definitely be signed before the end of March or even earlier. We are looking for a suitable format and a suitable date," Czech Defense Minister Jana Cernochova said on January 21, saying that the hospitalization of US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin also affected the signing process.
Prague plans to pay Washington 105.8 billion Czech koruna ($4.64 billion) to buy 24 F-35 fighters.
A US Marine Corps F-35B in training. (Photo: Avgeekery)
In addition, the Czech Republic will also pay additional costs, including the construction of a new airport, he said, adding that the total cost of purchasing and using these aircraft by the Czech Republic in the period up to 2069 will amount to 322 billion crowns ($14.8 billion).
Last September, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said Prague had decided to buy 24 F-35 fighter jets. He added that the first fighter jets would be delivered to the Czech Republic in 2031, while all 24 purchased would be in service by 2035.
Currently, the Czech Air Force is equipped with 14 JAS-39 Gripen fighters leased from Sweden, as well as 24 domestically produced L-159 aircraft.
In response to the news that the Czech Republic was buying weapons from the US, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova noted that US arms sales efforts "have damaged the global economy and affected the well-being of people in many countries outside Europe".
The fifth-generation F-35 stealth fighter is one of the most expensive fighter development programs in US history. The main contractor for the F-35 is Lockheed Martin.
The F-35 is designed to do things no single plane can do. It is being developed to replace the US Air Force's A-10 attack aircraft and F-16 fighter jets, the US Navy's F/A-18 fighter jets and the US Marine Corps' AV-8B Harrier.
The F-35 is a single-engine, single-seat fighter. Its uniqueness lies in the fact that different versions will be designed to serve different purposes.
The US has developed the F-35 into three different variants, including the F-35A for the Air Force, the F-35C for the Navy, and the F-35B for the Marines. The special feature of the F-35B is that it can take off and land vertically like a helicopter.
Despite costing tens of thousands of dollars, variants of the F-35 have been plagued by frequent aviation incidents since they entered service in 2015.
Kong Anh (Source: Sputnik)
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