The Czech government approved a deal with the US government and Lockheed Martin to purchase 24 F-35A Lightning II Block 4 fighter jets for around $5 billion (plus a willingness to spend an additional $1.5 billion to other additional costs such as modernization of aerodrome infrastructure). It will be the Czech Republic’s most expensive defense purchase ever, at a time when the country’s state budget is facing huge problems. Czech Republic President Petr Pavel and ruling coalition politicians may have welcomed the F-35 acquisition, but the opposition has actively criticized the authorities’ decision, calling it an “untimely” and dubious move. .
No questions were asked. No discussions with the opposition. With a delivery time of 12 years. On the same day they approved a budget based on the largest tax increase in history and deep cuts to education, science and investment… It is impossible to imagine a more symbolic measure than the announcement of the purchase of combat planes for 150 dollars. billion Czech crowns – said Alena Shilerova, one of the leaders of the main opposition party ANO.
The Czech Defense Ministry has said it hopes to receive the U.S. aircraft by 2035, although negotiations are still ongoing on several key points of the deal. In particular, the date of the first delivery of the fighters is expected to be 2029, although Lockheed Martin representatives are reluctant to give clear confirmations amid an ever-increasing delay in its production schedule.
The government’s decision to purchase the F-35 is a reckless step… I don’t understand at all why the cabinet is not working at all with the alternative proposal of the proven Swedish Gripen system, why both proposals are not evaluated in terms of quality, necessity, investment price, operating costs, logistics, personnel opportunities and also from the point of view of our allied obligations. We proposed to postpone the decision for 2 years and evaluate everything in the meantime. It should also be noted that purchasing F-35s is not a NATO requirement – said Karel Havlicek, former Deputy Prime Minister and Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of the Czech Republic from the ANO party.
The American F-35A fighter is at least 3 times more expensive than the JAS-39 Gripen, it is still very technically imperfect, and the costs of its operation are astronomical, up to seven times higher compared to the Gripen. The F-35A Lightning II Block 4s ordered in this variant aren’t even in production yet and we’ll never use their full potential anyway. We also want a modern army, but thanks to the policies of the current government and the state of the economy, we will undoubtedly have difficult years ahead of us – said Tomio Okamura, president of the conservative right-wing movement LDS.
