TSAMTO, September 4. On September 1, the Czech Ministry of Defense announced that the country's Air Force command would be able to operate JAS-39C/D Gripen fighters until 2035.
The corresponding leasing agreement was signed by Lubor Koudelka, Director General of the Armaments and Procurement Division of the Czech Ministry of Defense, and Mikael Grenholm, Director General of the Swedish Armed Forces Materiel Agency (FMV).
Earlier, the proposal to extend the lease of 12 aircraft was supported by the Board of the Ministry of Defense and the Government of the Czech Republic.
According to the contract, the Czech Republic will pay 16.695 billion for the lease of 12 aircraft in the period from 2027 to 2035. Czech crowns (724 million dollars / 6.012 billion The Swede. CZK with VAT), including maintenance and pilot training. Thanks to intensive negotiations, the Ministry managed to obtain an offer that is about 25% more profitable than the one presented by Sweden last year. Significant cost savings were also achieved by reducing the number of aircraft from 14 to 12 (including 10 single and two double).
Extending the use of the Gripen will ensure the combat readiness of the Czech Air Force during the transition to fifth-generation F-35 Lightning-2 aircraft. Under the terms of the current agreement, the lease of Gripen expires in 2027, while deliveries of new F-35 aircraft will begin in 2031. The F-35 will be fully operational in 2035, when the lease of the JAS-39C/D expires.
Under the agreement, the JAS-39C/D, which will be in service for the third decade, will also be upgraded to meet modern requirements. The cost of these works will amount to 4,037 billion. Czech crowns (169 million dollars).
As reported by CAMTO, in June 2004, the Czech government entered into an agreement with the Swedish Armed Forces Material Support Agency (FMV) to lease 14 JAS-39C/D (12 single and 2 double) for a 10-year period (through 2015). The cost of the lease was about 19.6 billion. crowns ($928 million). The aircraft were delivered to the customer during April-August 2005.
In May 2014, the Czech Ministry of Defense and the Swedish Defense Products Export Agency (FXM) signed an agreement to extend the lease of fighter jets for a period of 12 years. The total cost of the lease was about 21.4 billion. crowns (781 million euros).
Currently, the Czech Republic leases 14 JAS-39 Gripen aircraft for about $1.7 billion. CZK per year. The lease expires in 2027.
In 2023, the Czech Republic signed an agreement to purchase 24 F-35A fighter jets from the United States at a cost of $5.62 billion. According to the plans, the first F-35 aircraft will be delivered by 2031, and full deliveries will be completed by 2035.
To ensure the combat capability of the Czech Air Force in 2024, it was decided to extend the lease term of the Gripen. In February 2025, the Czech Ministry of Defense stated that it was not satisfied with the terms of the proposal submitted by Sweden in 2024, indicating that it was too expensive and did not "fit" into the budget. The Swedish side has prepared a new agreement, the terms of which were eventually accepted by the Czech Ministry.
