LUBOMIR SEDLAK / PRAGUE & STEWART PENNEY / LONDON
The Czech Republic has sought data on used UK Royal Air Force Panavia Tornado F3s as part of the country's studies of potential replacements for its fighters.
Prague cancelled a deal for 24 Saab/BAE Systems Gripens in November and has been evaluating offers of used fighters, including Lockheed Martin F-16s from Belgium, Israel and Turkey and Canadian Forces' Boeing CF-18s (Flight International, 17-24 December 2002).
The UK Defence Export Services Organisation (DESO) says the Czech government has approached London seeking information on the F3, but it adds there have been "no offers" and talks are at a very early stage. The F3 is due to be phased out later this decade and 24 leased to Italy were recently returned.
Defence sources in Prague say a DESO team was in the Czech Republic last week, but DESO declines to comment.
A Czech defence ministry source quoted in the local newspaper Právo said: "We see this as a solution that would quickly help us protect our airspace at a moment when the country's politicians are unable to agree on a purchase of new aircraft." The source adds that leasing or paying for aircraft in installments will be significantly cheaper than new aircraft, and that the "cost would moreover be covered solely" by the air force, "although it's not a solution for the next 30 years".
Other reports quote deputy defence minister Jan Vána saying the F3 is "one of the most likely possibilities" and that only the UK offer is "at a more advanced stage".
Prague seeks 14 fighters. The new aircraft requirement was for multirole fighters, but the air force's near-term focus is air defence, a role to which the F3 is dedicated.
Source: Flight International
