Kalinak: Third F-16 Fighter Jet Arrived Last Week, Next One Expected in 2025

Bratislava, December 17 (TASR) - The third new F-16 fighter has landed at Kuchyna military airbase (Bratislava region), with two more expected in February and four more in August of next year, Defence Minister Robert Kalinak (smer-SD) announced at a press conference on Tuesday. "As of the new year, we aim to gradually take over part of the sovereign protection of our airspace with these combat aircraft. We'll gradually add services as the aircraft arrive so that we'll be able to protect the airspace," said the minister, who thanked foreign partners currently defending Slovakia's skies. At the same time, the minister stated that a new air-defence element has been negotiated to extend the range of the system. Missiles should now have a range of 150 kilometres instead of 75. The production of the missiles is expected to be transferred to Slovakia, which could receive and start assembling the first system in late 2025 and early 2026. Two systems should be supplied each year. Kalinak stated that the ministry could also buy CV90120 tanks in the future. The advantage of these, according to him, is their lighter weight. At the same time, however, they have a cannon comparable with those of heavy tanks. lin/df