The Slovak Ministry of Defence, represented by National Armaments Director Col Vladimír Kavický, has signed respective Technical Arrangements for launching the MiG-29 fighter jet fleet replacement process.

Also in an interview on the sidelines of the Halifax International Security Forum, MoD State Secretary Róbert Ondrejcsák said of the Russian defense industrial relationship: “We are cutting off as quickly as we can.

“The most important connection with Russia is still the MiG-29, which is still Russian manufactured, and it’s what we are cutting now with the decision about the F-16s,” Ondrejcsák said. “There several are other smaller systems.”

According to a MoD’s statement, Technical Arrangements includes three separate Letters of Offer and Acceptance (LOAs), which are instrumental in effecting the performance of the agreement via the U.S. Governmentʼs Foreign Military Sales (FMS) programme, and covers the procurement of 14 U.S. F-16 aircraft, aerial munitions, logistics support, and flying and ground personnel training.

Expected that all new F-16V fighter jets for the Slovak Air Force are due to be delivered by the end of 2023.

MoD noted that the final decision on the signing of the agreement on the replacement of the Slovak Air Forceʼs fighter jet fleet falls fully within the competence of the Slovak Government.

On Friday 30 November 2018, the MOD Modernization Department signed drafts of respective technical arrangements that are instrumental to launching the fleet replacement process and informed the U.S. side about it.

The outcome of the signing by the MOD of the three separate preliminary Letters of Offer and Acceptance (LOAs), which are necessary to effect the performance of the agreement via the U.S. Foreign Military Sales (FMS) programme, is that the MOD Modernization Department has concluded the negotiations on the LOAs and prepared them for the official signing upon approval by the Ministry of Finance in line with the Governmentʼs decision. Minister of Defence Peter Gajdoš fully respects the Prime Ministerʼs position whereby another approval by the Finance Ministry is required before the LOAs are officially signed, and he will act accordingly in this respect.

The Lockheed Martin F-16V is the latest and most advanced F-16 on the market today. The F-16V configuration includes numerous enhancements designed to keep the F-16 at the forefront of international security, strengthening its position as the world’s foremost combat-proven 4th Generation multi-role fighter aircraft.

The F-16V provides advanced combat capabilities in a scalable and affordable package. The core of the F-16V configuration is an Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar, a modern commercial off-the-shelf (COTS)-based avionics subsystem, a large-format, high-resolution display; and a high-volume, high-speed data bus. Operational capabilities are enhanced through a Link-16 Theater Data Link, Sniper Advanced Targeting Pod, advanced weapons, precision GPS navigation, and the Automatic Ground Collision Avoidance System (Auto GCAS).