Two More F-16 Fighters Land in Slovakia (2)

Kuchyna, April 2 (TASR) - Two more F-16 fighters for the Slovak armed forces landed at Kuchyna military airbase (Bratislava region) on Wednesday, TASR learnt on the same day. "We're significantly increasing the capability of the Slovak Air Force," said Deputy Chief-of-General-Staff of the Slovak Air Force Slavomir Vercimak, confirming that four more aircraft are expected to be delivered this year. Vercimak said that the aim is to deploy the new Slovak fighters to protect the country's airspace this summer. Slovakia could take full responsibility for its airspace by the end of the year or next year. The introduction of the fighters into service is being preceded by an administrative and technical acceptance process, Vercimak further stated. Adolf Daubner of the Slovak Air Force added that the five planes delivered so far are being used for training, mainly of ground personnel. Tests, acceptance trials and a small number of flights are also being carried out. There are currently six trained pilots in Slovakia. Others are being trained in the United States. They should finish their training at the turn of the year, after which they will be replaced by another group. A total of 22 pilots are to be prepared for service. Slovakia now has five of the 14 aircraft ordered at its disposal. It signed a contract for 14 US-made F-16 C/D Block 70 fighter jets at the end of 2018. The delivery of the aircraft was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The first two fighters arrived in Slovakia in July 2024, while another one became available in December of last year. In the meantime Slovakia has been protecting its airspace in cooperation with its foreign allies. am/df