On Thursday, September 26, 2024, the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) from Patuxent River, Maryland, on behalf of the U.S. Department of Defense, signed a contract worth 422,244,473 USD with Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. in Fort Worth, Texas, to initiate the production of 24 F-35A Lightning II multirole aircraft for the Czech Republic.
Photo: Lockheed Martin
The contract includes funding for program management costs, logistics, maintenance, and systems engineering services to integrate the government of the Czech Republic into the F-35 JSF (Joint Strike Fighter) program as a customer through the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) process.
The work will be carried out at various undisclosed locations outside the continental United States (96%) and at various undisclosed locations within the U.S. (4%), with completion expected by September 2027. The full amount of funding was activated at the time of the contract signing, and none of these funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year (September 30, 2024).
The intergovernmental agreement for the purchase of 24 F-35A aircraft was signed on January 29, 2024. Its value is 106 billion CZK (4.58 billion USD), which includes accompanying equipment, a training package, ammunition, and ensuring combat readiness until 2034. It will be paid off gradually from 2024 to 2034. An additional 44 billion CZK (1.9 billion USD) will be spent mainly on upgrading ground infrastructure, purchasing fuel, training personnel, and VAT (Value Added Tax). Deliveries will begin in 2031 and conclude in 2035.
Approval for the purchase of the aircraft was granted on June 29, 2023, with a maximum value of 5.62 billion USD at that time.
As part of the offset agreement, the Czech company LOM Praha signed two contracts with Lockheed Martin: one on September 16, 2023, regarding industrial cooperation, and another on May 20, 2024, for the establishment of a pilot training center in Pardubice. A total of 14 offset projects, valued at 15.3 billion CZK, are planned, covering the production of components, research and development, and support for operations, maintenance, and repairs (MRO).
In the Czech Air Force (Vzdušné síly), the new aircraft will replace 14 leased JAS 39C/D Gripen jets from Sweden, with the last one being retired and returned to the manufacturer, Saab Defence and Security, in 2035.
As for the latest successes of the F-35 JSF program, it is worth mentioning the approval for the sale of 32 (out of a planned 48) F-35A aircraft to Romania, the contract for the purchase of 20 F-35A jets (with an option for 20 more) by Greece, and the presentation of the first Polish F-35A Husarz. Additionally, Italy announced plans to purchase 25 more F-35s, including 15 F-35A and 10 F-35B aircraft, the Kingdom of the Netherlands declared full operational capability of its F-35A fleet, which will be increased to 58, and according to media reports, the U.S. has offered Turkey a return to the program.
Additionally, the manufacturer has begun deliveries to the USAF of the first two F-35A aircraft in the Technical Refresh 3 (TR3) configuration, which will enable the implementation of the latest Block 4 version. Meanwhile, Pratt & Whitney (part of RTX Corporation) has completed the preliminary design review of the F135 engine core upgrade (ECU). The AGM-158C LRASM anti-ship missiles have also been integrated with the carrier-based variant, the F-35C.