Czech air defence in the balance: Sweden talks or NATO help
The Czech Defence Minister, Jana Černochová, admitted that if her country fails to agree with Sweden regarding the continued leasing of Gripens, NATO allies will have to take over air defence duties for the Czech Republic.
Jana Černochová discussed the uncertain situation regarding the Czech air force in an interview with the portal aktualne.cz. She reminded listeners that until 2027, the Czech Republic will be using 14 Gripen fighters leased from Sweden. Eventually, these will be replaced by F-35 fighters ordered by Prague, but they will not be in service before 2031.
The Czechs might be left without fighters: Help from Poland?
If no agreement is reached with the Swedes, there could be a problem during the "transition period," during which the Czechs would need to rely on assistance from NATO. Černochová admitted that the first offers of help in protecting airspace have already come from Germany, Slovakia, and Poland.
The portal aktualne.cz noted that sharing airspace protection tasks among NATO member countries is part of air policing missions and is a very common practice. It's also familiar to Czech pilots who have already carried out such tasks over regions like the Baltic countries or Iceland.
Negotiations on the new leasing agreement with Sweden are ongoing, but there are differences regarding the financial terms of the cooperation. Stockholm insists on maintaining fixed leasing fees until the contract's end, while Prague wants them to decrease as more F-35s are introduced into service.
Valued but not widespread fighters
JAS-39 Gripen (JAS: Jakt – fighter, Attack – attack, Spaning – reconnaissance) is a multirole fighter manufactured by the aerospace company SAAB. This single-engine aircraft with delta wings and canard control surfaces offers pilots excellent manoeuvrability and the ability to travel at speeds up to Mach 2 (about 1,325 mph).
The JAS-39 Gripen measures about 14 metres in length. It can operate at altitudes up to 18,000 metres and can eliminate hostile targets with a varied arsenal. It standardly features a 27 mm Mauser BK-27 cannon but can also be equipped with missiles and bombs with significantly greater firepower, including AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles and Taurus KEPD 350 cruise missiles.
A distinguishing feature of the JAS-39 Gripen is its ability to operate from short, improvised runways (about 800 metres in length, and in exceptional situations even about 500 metres).
In Europe, only Sweden, Hungary, and the Czech Republic use JAS-39 Gripen fighters. In the near future, Ukraine may join the group of users of these aircraft.
