The new lease extends to 2031 retirement for what had been scheduled to become the oldest in the fleet-a fleet of 14 Swedish-made Saab JAS 39 Gripen multirole fighters-leasing for the Czech Air Force was extended.
The Czech Air Force will begin taking on board the 24 Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II jets starting in 2031.
The Czech Air Force has inducted two twin-seat and a dozen single-seat variants of the Gripen into its inventory and started receiving its first Gripens in August 2005.
Based at Čáslav Air Base, northeast of Prague, the Gripens are upgraded to the MS20 standard and will continue in service until the new F-35s arrive.
The U.S. State Department approved the sale of fifth-generation stealth fighters to the Czech Republic in June 2023 and then in August 2023, the Czech Parliament approved the sale.
The F-35s will replace the JAS 39s as well as the older Aero L-159 fighters according to Aerospace Global News.
Sweden attempted to convince Prague to source new Gripens, but the Czech government opted for the F-35 as it copied other NATO nations.
The Minister of Defense of Sweden, Pål Jonson said that we are satisfied with the prolongation of the lease agreement under which the defense cooperation will continue to benefit both parties.
Besides the CV90 contract, the Czech military will now also start to train with Sweden on a Swedish-made CV90 infantry fighting vehicle as Prague wants to replace the remaining Soviet-made armored vehicles.
Another NATO country, Hungary, also announced recently that it will buy four more Gripen C/D to add to the 14 in the fleet today.
At the same time, Saab and the Hungarian Ministry of Defense signed a memorandum of understanding regarding the development of high-tech industrial areas and fighter aircraft capabilities, including support for a Centre of Excellence for VR technologies near Budapest.
The Czech Republic will be one of only a handful of NATO nations flying both Gripen and F-35s. Czech Air Force Command’s Major Aleš Svoboda emphasized the strategic value of flying both Gripen and F-35s: This is also a strategic benefit in gaining valuable insight into the operational use of both aircraft types during joint operations.
The new Hungarian agreement for more Gripen fighters is particularly linked to ongoing discussions over Sweden’s membership application into the NATO alliance. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was quoted saying that the Gripen deal could help rebuild trust between Hungary and Sweden, thus leaving open the possibility that Hungary’s parliament could ratify Sweden’s membership into NATO shortly.
The Swedish defense contractor secured a SEK500 million contract to upgrade its Gripen C/D fleet for the Swedish Air Force until 2035.
More advanced in design, the manufacturer is also producing 60 Gripen E/F jets to supply Stockholm. Although the Czech Republic opted for the F-35, Hungary remains a significant European partner for Saab, with contracts for Gripens remaining possible in the future.