The U.S. State Department authorized the possible sale of 24 F-35 Lightning II fifth-generation fighters, together with an interesting package of guided weapons for them, to the Czech Republic for 5.62 billion dollars.
As announced by the Czech Ministry of Defense, the favorite candidate to succeed the JAS-39 in the defense of its airspace was the Lockheed Martin F-35A, and negotiations for its acquisition began in July 2022.
See also: Czech Republic is determined and wants 24 F-35 Lightning IIs
Today, the U.S. fifth-generation fighter is one step closer to adding a new European customer, following the release of a statement from the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), in which it reports the possible Foreign Military Sale (FMS) to the Czech Government of:
- 24 F-35A Joint Strike Fighter conventional take-off and landing (CTOL) aircraft;
- 25 Pratt & Whitney F135-PW-100 engines (24 installed, 1 spare);
- 70 AIM-120C-8 advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles (AMRAAM);
- 3 AIM-120C-8 AMRAAM Guidance Sections;
- 86 GBU-53/B Small Diameter Bombs – Increment II (SDB-II) StormBreaker All-Up-rounds (AUR);
- 2 GBU-53 SDB-II Guided Test Vehicles (GTVs);
- 3 GBU-53 SDB-II Captive Carry Reliability Trainers (CCRT);
- 12 Mk-84 2,000 lb. General Purpose Bombs or BLU-109 2,000 lb. Penetrator Bombs for GBU-31;
- 12 KMU-556/KMU-557 Joint Direct Attack Munition Tail Kits (JDAM) for GBU-31;
- 50 AIM-9X Block II/II+ Tactical Sidewinder Missiles;
- 10 AIM-9X Block II Tactical Sidewinder Guidance Units;
- 18 AIM-9X Block II Tactical Sidewinder Captive Air Training Missiles (CATM) missiles;
- 4 AIM-9X Block II CATM guidance units.
Also included are test benches, tooling, spare parts, accessories, documentation, software, training, logistical support, transportation, etc. for both the F-35 and the authorized armament package.
Gripens for Lightnings
In 2027, the lease of the 14 JAS-39 Gripen C/Ds currently flying for the Czech Air Force comes to an end, and Prague had initially selected Saab’s Gripen E and Lockheed Martin’s F-35 as finalists for their eventual replacement.
Stockholm and Saab tried to retain their customer by offering to let them have the Gripen C/Ds at a token cost. «Basically, we would consider them paid for,» the Swedish ambassador in Prague had said. The plan was for Czech to stay in the Gripen family, eventually transitioning to the E and F model.
See also: F-35 or Gripen (almost) free: a tempting offer for the Czech Republic
But it was clear from the Czech Air Force that they wanted to make the leap to the 5th generation. «Our decision to choose this option is based on the analysis of the Czech Armed Forces, which clearly articulates that only the most advanced 5th generation fighters will be able to meet the mission requirements on future battlefields,» explained the Czech Ministry of Defense.
