Czech Republic Receives US State Department Clearance For F-35A Sale
The State Department notified Congress on June 29 that it had approved the Foreign Military Sale of up to 24 F-35As to the Czech Republic.
An announcement by the State Department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency detailed a package valued up to $5.62 billion for 24 Lockheed Martin F-35As and their engines, with an additional spare Pratt & Whitney F135 engine included. Munitions included in the sale are 70 AIM-120C-8 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles, AIM-9X Sidewinder infrared guided air-to-air missiles, GBU-53/B “StormBreaker” Small Diameter Bombs – Increment II (SDB II), 12 GBU-31 2,000 pound Joint Direct Attack Munition GPS-guided bombs, as well as training versions of the air-to-air missiles. Also included in the package are chaff and flares, spare parts, support hardware, technical support, and training.
State Department approval of the sale and Congressional notification is one part of the Foreign Military Sale process, with official contract signings only taking place after DSCA approval. The final contract may also cost less than the maximum value provided by the DSCA, depending on what items and services are not procured.
The Czech Republic had expressed interest in procuring F-35s in July 2022. The F-35As will replace 14 Swedish Saab Gripen C fighters, which are on lease from Saab until 2027. At the time, Czech defense minister Jana Cernochova said that she expected negotiations for the purchase to conclude in October this year.
The Czech Republic is one of several European nations interested in procuring the F-35, with Romania and Greece also recently expressing their interest in purchasing the stealth multirole aircraft. Increased European interest in the F-35 has followed the selection of the F-35A by Switzerland, Finland and Germany, with the amount of current and future European F-35 operators presenting attractive prospects when it comes to interoperability and easy access to spare parts.