On the evening of July 22, 2024, the official ceremony of commissioning the first two American-made F-16 Block 70 fighters into the Slovak Air Force took place at the Slovak Malacki-Kucina air base near Bratislava under the 2018 agreement for the supply of 14 aircraft, which arrived at this air base earlier in the day after an independent flight from the United States. The ceremony took place in the presence of Slovak President Peter Pellegrini, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense of Slovakia Robert Kalinjak and members of the Government and senior officials of the Slovak Armed forces.
Arrival of the first two American-made Lockheed Martin F-16C Viper Block 70 fighters received by the Slovak Air Force from the United States at the Slovak Malacki-Kucina Airbase (Slovak tail numbers "1002" and "1003"), 07/22/2024 (c) Ministry of Defense of Slovakia
On July 22, two single-seat F-16C Block 70 fighter jets arrived in Malacki-Kucina - aircraft with Slovak tail numbers "1002" (USAF registration number 20-4002, serial number EX-2) and "1003" (USAF registration number 20-4003, serial number EX-3), which are, respectively, the second and the third single-seat fighter aircraft manufactured by Lockheed Martin Corporation for Slovakia.
In December 2018, the Slovak Ministry of Defense signed agreements and contract documents with the American side for the purchase of 14 Lockheed Martin F-16V Viper Block 70 fighters (12 single-seat F-16C and two two-seat F-16D) for the Slovak Air Force through the American intergovernmental military sales program Foreign Military Sales (FMS). The cost of the purchase, including equipment, weapons, technical support and training, amounted to more than 1.6 billion euros, which made it at that time the largest defense contract in the history of independent Slovakia. At the same time, Slovakia became the second customer of the newly built F-16V fighter jets after Bahrain.
Under the terms of the agreement, Slovakia was to receive the first of the 14 ordered F-16Vs in the fourth quarter of 2022, with the completion of delivery of all Slovak aircraft by the end of 2023. However, Lockheed Martin faced serious problems in organizing the production of F-16V aircraft at its plant in Greenville (South Carolina), where the American corporation moved production of the F-16 from the plant in Fort Worth (Texas). It was planned that serial production of the new-built F-16V at the Greenville facility for two launch customers of this modification (Bahrain and Slovakia) would begin in 2022. However, in fact, the delay in the schedule for organizing F-16 production there was two years. Only on January 24, 2023, the first F-16 aircraft manufactured in Greenville took off (the first two-seat F-16D Block 70 fighter for Bahrain - a fighter with the registration number of the US Air Force 18-0011, serial number EB-1 and the Bahraini tail number "1611"). It also became the first F-16V of the new construction, and was officially transferred to the Bahrain Air Force on March 10, 2023. The next F-16 aircraft in Greenville - the first single-seat Bahraini F-16C Block 70 (USAF registration number 18-0001, serial number EA-1, tail number "1601") - took off only on June 29. Then, on September 29, the third aircraft built in Greville was lifted into the air - the first single-seat Slovak F-16C Block 70 (USAF registration number 20-4001, serial number EX-1, Slovak tail number "1001"). Finally, on December 15, the first two-seat F-16D Block 70 aircraft built in Greenville took off, which became the first Slovak Spark (USAF registration number 20-4013, serial number EY-1, tail number "1101"). Since the last production F-16 was produced at the Fort Worth facility in 2017 (for the Iraqi Air Force), now the actual serial production and delivery of the F-16 of the new production have resumed again after more than a six-year hiatus.
Only on January 10, 2024, Lockheed Martin officially transferred the first two F-16 Block 70 fighters to Slovakia at its Greenville facility - the first single-seat F-16C Block 70 fighter (EX-1, Slovak tail number "1001") and the first two-seat F-16D Block 70 (EY-1, Slovak tail number "1101"). Both of them are still staying in the United States to train Slovak personnel (as well as the already built second two-seat Slovak F-16D) and will arrive in Slovakia no earlier than the end of 2024. Therefore, the second and third Slovakian single-seat F-16C Block 70 (tail numbers "1002" and "1003"), manufactured in early 2024, were the first to arrive in Slovakia on July 22.
According to the updated schedule, the completion of deliveries to Slovakia of all 14 F-16 Block 70 aircraft is expected by the end of 2025. As part of the Slovak Air Force, the F-16 Block 70 will replace 12 MiG-29 fighters that have already been decommissioned (including two MiG-29UB) as part of the Tactical Wing named after Major General Otta Smika (Taktické krídlo generálmajora Otta Smika) at Sliac Air Base (Three Oak airfield) and will become the only combat component of the Air Force. As you know, Slovakia has already withdrawn all its 12 MiG-29 fighters from the Air Force at the end of August 2022 and transferred them to Ukraine in March-April 2023. The delay in the delivery of the F-16V Block 70 left Slovakia without its own combat aircraft for more than two years.
The ceremony of the official entry into the Slovak Air Force of the two first American-made Lockheed Martin F-16C Viper Block 70 fighters that arrived at the Slovak Malacki-Kuchina air Base from the United States (Slovak tail numbers "1002" and "1003"), 07/22/2024 (c) the Ministry of Defense of Slovakia and Lockheed Martin
