The country’s Prime Minister issued a statement hours later declaring the agreements are ‘invalid’ as the purchase is yet to be cleared by the Ministry of Finance
The Slovak Ministry of Defense announced on Nov. 30 that it had signed three Letters of Offer and Acceptance to buy 14 F-16 Block 70/72s with the U.S.
However, the country’s Prime Minister issued a statement hours later declaring the agreements are ‘invalid’ as the purchase is yet to be cleared by the Ministry of Finance.
“Premier Pellegrini considers the contracts regarding the purchase of F-16 fighters signed earlier in the day by the defense ministry to be invalid for the moment, as the finance ministry still hasn’t approved the deal,” the statement said.
As we have reported in July, Lockheed Martin has beaten Saab for the contract to supply new fighter jets to Slovakia. The country will be buying 14 F-16 Block 70/72 aircraft.
Slovakia’s Ministry of Defense said the package from the U.S. is cheaper compared to Sweden and the Americans were able to deliver the jets earlier.
According Lockheed Martin the Block 70/72 is the newest and most advanced F-16 production configuration, combining numerous capability and structural upgrades.
The F-16 Block 70/72 in fact combines capability upgrades, most notably the advanced Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar with a new avionics architecture, and structural upgrades to extend the structural life of the aircraft by more than 50 percent beyond that of previous production F-16 aircraft. F-16 Block 70/72 software takes advantage of technologies not available when earlier Block F-16s were developed and produced. Operational capabilities are enhanced through an advanced datalink, targeting pod and weapons; precision GPS navigation and the Automatic Ground Collision Avoidance System (Auto GCAS).
Photo credit: Lockheed Martin
Artwork courtesy of AircraftProfilePrints.com
