The first of 14 new F-16 fighter jets from the US land in Slovakia

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia — Slovakia obtained on Monday the primary two of the 14 new F-16 army jets from the US whose supply was pushed again two years as a result of coronavirus pandemic and a scarcity of chips.

President Peter Pellegrini hailed the arrival of the F-16s on the Kuchyna air base in western Slovakia late Monday by saying the F-16s will “considerably contribute to the rise of protection capabilities of our nation.”

The remainder of the jets will probably be progressively delivered in two years.

Pellegrini was the prime minister in 2018 when the federal government signed the $1.8 billion deal to buy 14 U.S. F-16 Block 70/72 fighter jets in a transfer meant to interchange the out of date Soviet-made MiG-29 jets.

Below the earlier authorities, Slovakia grounded its MiGs in the summertime of 2022 as a result of a scarcity of spare components and experience to assist preserve them after Russian technicians returned residence following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Final 12 months, the federal government accepted a plan to offer Ukraine its fleet of 13 MiG-29s, changing into the second NATO member nation to heed the Ukrainian authorities’s pleas for warplanes to assist defend in opposition to Russia’s invasion.

Within the absence of its personal plane, fellow NATO members Poland, the Czech Republic and later additionally Hungary have stepped in to protect Slovak air house.

The brand new authorities led by populist Prime Minister Robert Fico got here to energy final 12 months after profitable the parliamentary election following campaigning on an anti-American platform. It has condemned the donation of the jets to Ukraine and has threatened to sue.

Fico opposes army help for Ukraine and EU sanctions on Russia. Pellegrini’s his shut ally.