F-16 for Slovakia - contract signed
In December 2018, in Bratislava, under the FMS procedure, documents related to the order of F-16V Block 70 aircraft in the United States and an agreement on industrial cooperation between the Slovak Ministry of Defense and Lockheed Martin Corporation were signed.
On December 12, 2018, in the presence of the Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic, Petr Pellegrini, Minister of National Defense Peter Gaidos signed documents related to the order of F-16V aircraft in the United States and an industrial cooperation agreement between the Slovak Ministry of Defense and Lockheed Martin Corporation. The aircraft manufacturer was represented by Ana Vugofsky, Vice President of International Business Development at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics. The signed agreements are designed to ensure effective protection of the airspace of the Slovak Republic and contribute to the development of the aviation industry in Slovakia, including through the maintenance of new aircraft by the local defense industry.
On Friday, November 30, 2018, the press secretary of the Ministry of Defense of the Slovak Republic (MO RS) Danka Chapakova announced that the Ministry of Defense, represented by the National Armaments Director Colonel S. Vladimir Kavicke, in accordance with a government decree, signed the technical documents necessary for the launch the process of generating combat aircraft of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic (SP SZ RS). In particular, there were three contracts, the conclusion of which was necessary for the purchase of aircraft, their equipment and weapons under the US government's Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program. They concerned the purchase under the FMS: 14 aircraft, weapons and ammunition, logistics services, as well as training of flight and technical personnel for a total of 1,589 billion euros (about 6,8 billion zlotys). The deal was supposed to ensure the fulfillment of obligations to NATO in the field of air defense, the replacement of morally and technically obsolete MiG-29 aircraft, and the expansion of the capabilities of Slovak aviation for accurate combat against ground targets.
However, Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini (from the Social Democratic Party Smer, leader of the current government coalition) considered the signing of the aforementioned agreements formally invalid at the moment, since the government decree also mentioned the need to obtain the consent of the Ministry of Finance, and such consent until November 30, 2018 no year was given, which was announced a day later by the Press and Information Department of the Chancellery of the Council of Ministers of the Slovak Republic.
However, in the first week of December, differences between the Prime Minister and Defense Minister Piotr Gaidos (representing the coalition Christian-national party Slovene People's Country) were cleared up, and the Ministry of Finance agreed to conclude the necessary agreements in accordance with previously agreed conditions. On December 12, 2018, documents related to the purchase of Lockheed Martin F-16 vehicles by Slovakia could be officially signed.
The three stand-alone Letters of Offer and Acceptance (LOA) intergovernmental agreements required for the procurement of military equipment under the FMS program relate to the order of 12 single and two double F-16V Block 70 aircraft. The machines will be fully compatible with NATO systems and will have the most modern equipment, offered today for this type of aircraft. The order includes the aforementioned deliveries of combat equipment, comprehensive training of pilots and ground personnel, as well as support for the operation of vehicles for two years from the start of their operation in Slovakia. Under the contract, JV SZ RS will receive the first vehicles in the last quarter of 2022. and all deliveries should be completed by the end of 2023.
Minister Gaidos recognized this event as a historic moment for Slovakia and thanked his government for fully accepting the choice made by the Ministry of Defense. For his part, Prime Minister Pellegrini added that this is indeed an important moment in the recent history of Slovakia, including in the context of an investment value of up to 1,6 billion euros. Thus, Slovakia is trying to fulfill its obligations to NATO allies to achieve the level of defense spending in the amount of 2% of GDP. The new aircraft will guarantee the sovereignty and protection of the country's airspace. With this purchase, the Slovak Republic has sent a clear signal that it sees its future in closer cooperation within the European Union as well as the North Atlantic Alliance.
Already in April and May 2018, the US administration submitted to the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Kazakhstan three draft agreements defining the conditions for the purchase of aircraft, weapons, equipment and services in the amount of 1,86 billion US dollars (1,59 billion euros). They included the delivery of 12 F-16V Block 70 multipurpose combat aircraft and two two-seat F-16V Block 70, and with them 16 each (installed in the aircraft and two spares): General Electric F110-GE-129 engines, Northrop Grumman AN / Radar stations APG-83 SABR with AESA antenna, Embedded Global Positioning System Inertial Navigation System (Northrop Grumman LN-260 EGI, Integrated Defensive Electronic Warfare Suite) Harris AN/ALQ-211 with visible target AN/ALE-47 launch kits. In addition, they included 14: Raytheon Modular Mission Computer, Link 16 (Multifunctional Information Distribution System / Low Volume Terminals), Viasat MIDS / LVT (1), data exchange systems (213), helmet-mounted data display and guidance systems (Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System) Rockwell Collins/Elbit Systems of America, Honeywell Improved Programmable Display Generators and Terma North America Electronic Warfare Management Systems AN/ALQ-126. Additional equipment should be created: Advanced Identification Friend or Foe BAE Systems AN / APX-22 and interoperable secure data transmission systems (Secure Communications and Cryptographic Applique), Joint Mission Leidos Planning System), ground training support systems, Electronic Combat Auxiliary software provision of the International Safety Assistance Programme, other necessary software packages and technical support, spare parts and tools, and ground support equipment. The package also includes: training of flight and technical personnel (160 pilots and XNUMX technicians) with the supply of the necessary equipment, publications and technical documentation, basic operational support for two years from the start of the operation of the aircraft, etc.
The contracts also included the supply of weapons and ammunition: 15 six-barreled 20-mm GD-OTS M61A1 Vulcan cannons with ammunition, 100 Raytheon AIM-9X Sidewinder air-to-air missiles and 12 AIM-9X Captive Air Training missiles, 30 guided missiles of the Air-to-air Raytheon AIM-120C7 AMRAAM and two AIM-120C7 Captive Air Training Missiles.
The agreements defining the conditions of sale, defining the principles of project implementation and its financing, are intergovernmental. Their signing is a condition for the US Air Force to conclude agreements with Lockheed Martin for the production of aircraft or for the production of weapons with its manufacturers.
