F-16 Fighters to Be Repaired in Trencin in Cooperation with Norwegians

Trencin, April 9 (TASR) - State-owned Aircraft Repair Company Trencin (LOTN) will repair F-16 aircraft, with an agreement on setting up a joint organisation for repairing and maintaining F-16 aircraft being signed on Wednesday by LOTN director Juraj Laus and head of Norway's Kongsberg Aviation Maintenance Services (KAMS) Andre Jaegtvik. The collaboration between LOTN and KAMS is aimed at providing new repair, logistics and support services to cover the life-cycle of the F-16 aircraft from manufacturer Lockheed Martin. According to Laus, the signing of the agreement concluded a nearly year-long period of negotiations on cooperation on forming a joint repair company in Trencin. This is a big step for LOTN and the whole region. It will open up new opportunities not only for LOTN, but also for employment in the region and the employment of secondary school-leavers and university graduates. "This initiative is a direct result of talks that started less than a year ago. Although LOTN is part of life-cycle support for the new generation of F-16 Block 70 aircraft of the Slovak air force, at this moment it is also about providing maintenance for F-16 Block 15 to Block 52 aircraft," added Laus. According to Jaegtvik, KAMS-Kongsberg is a company with a history of more than two hundred years, dedicated to business in the fields of defence, naval and space technology. "Slovakia and Norway are not only NATO allies, but also countries that have strong ambitions to modernise their national defence systems. This creates very interesting opportunities for cooperation. The Norwegian air force has already transitioned from F-16s to the more advanced F-35 fighter type, but with our more than 40 years of experience servicing F-16s, we can partner with other countries such as Slovakia," stressed Jaegtvik. According to Defence Minister Robert Kalinak (Smer-SD), the signing of the agreement marks a significant step for the arms industry in Slovakia. "Since taking office as defence minister, I've been declaring that we'll support the domestic defence industry in order to increase gross domestic product and the living standards of the Slovak population. Over the past few years, ways have been hard sought to put LOTN back on its original pedestal. I'm glad that the renowned company Kongsberg has chosen Slovakia as a partner," emphasised Kalinak, adding that the joint venture will bid for repairs and upgrades of F-16s, hundreds of which are owned by NATO and other countries. LOTN currently has 273 employees, of which 193 are specialists-mechanics. The formation of the joint venture could increase their number by several dozen. According to the director, LOTN should be able to handle the bulk of the repair activities in the joint venture by the end of the year, and the first aircraft could start being repaired as early as next year. am/df