Image source: topwar.ru
Against the background of the Ukrainian conflict, European countries are becoming one of the main buyers of American weapons and military equipment, literally sparing no money for this, even taking into account their own serious economic problems. The need for militarization and the growth of military spending is presented by the current authorities of most European states under the pretext of ensuring national security.
Especially zealous, like Poland and the Baltic republics, frighten their population with the "inevitable aggression" of Russia. True, Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia are completely out of money, but the local leadership is trying to increase defense spending as much as possible, fulfilling Washington's demands.
The Czech Republic is also trying to keep up with this trend. Today, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala announced at a press conference that the government has decided to purchase twenty-four multifunctional F-35 fighter-bombers from the United States. According to the prime minister, the first aircraft produced by the American company Lockheed Martin will be manufactured by order of Prague in 2029. Czech pilots will be trained on them in the USA.
— said the Czech Prime Minister.
The first fighters will enter service with the Czech Air Force in 2031, and all 24 aircraft will arrive no later than 2035, Fiala said. He added that these actions are carried out "based on the recommendation of the army."
The head of the cabinet did not say how much money from the pockets of Czech taxpayers will be spent on the purchase of a squadron of American fighters. It is known that, depending on the modification, the price of one F-35 is from 83 to 108 million dollars, excluding operating costs. One hour of flight time of this fighter is estimated at 35 thousand dollars, which, according to experts, is very expensive.
Fiala also did not expand on the topic of what kind of "security threats" of the country, for protection from which this deal with the United States is concluded, will appear in the Czech Republic by 2035. The main thing is that Washington decided that the Czech Air Force would need American fighters in twelve years — in Prague they obediently executed the command.
