Slovakia Receives First-Two American-made F-16 Fighter Jets

By Jim Morris, Warrior Vice President, News

It took a couple years longer than expected, but Slovakia has finally received its first two American-made F-16 fighter jets.

The planes landed in western Slovakia on Monday, temporarily bearing US insignia and flown by American pilots. A dozen more of the fighters will be delivered over the next two years, all part of a $1.8 billion deal. The delivery of the F-16s was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic and a shortage of computer chips.

Slovakia had grounded its aging fleet of Soviet-made MiG-29s in 2022 when Russian technicians who serviced them left the country following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Last year, Slovakia, a member of NATO, donated the MiGs to Ukraine. Since then, Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary have joined in to guard Slovak skies.

Slovakia is getting the Block 70 model of the F-16, built by Lockheed Martin. The planes are equipped with the Northrop Grumman APG-83 AESA radar and the Automatic Ground Collision Avoidance System (Auto GCAS), which Lockheed says has helped save the lives of 13 F-16 pilots since it was introduced ten years ago.

The F-16 deal has been complicated by the sometimes-turbulent state of Slovakian politics. Peter Pellegrini was the prime minister when the agreement was signed in 2018. In 2021, government auditors concluded that the purchase of the planes was inefficient, citing the fact that the most expensive military purchase in Slovakian history was not debated in parliament.

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