Waiting for F-35: Czech Republic plans to extend lease of Gripen fighter jets until 2035

The Czech Republic plans to extend the lease of Swedish JAS-39 Gripen fighter jets until 2035 when they will be finally replaced by F-35A aircraft.

The country’s Ministry of Defense announced this.

The Swedish and Czech parties have made progress in negotiations to extend the lease and maintenance of Gripen aircraft from 2027 to 2035.

The agreements provide for about a 25 percent discount. The number of fighter jets and flight hours will also be optimized. The Czech army will have 12 aircraft after 2027 instead of the current 14, of which 10 will be single-seaters and two will be two-seaters.

“This is an effective solution for the Czech Republic, as it will gradually start using F-35 aircraft to protect its airspace from 2031. This will lead to significant financial savings compared to Sweden’s proposals over the past almost two years,” the statement reads.

According to the Swedish proposal, the Czech Republic will pay approximately 16.65 billion kroons for the aircraft’s lease, maintenance, and training between 2027 and 2035.

At the same time, the lease itself does not constitute the main part of the proposal. The cost will be influenced mainly by the age of the aircraft, which will be in service for the third decade, and therefore, higher maintenance costs are expected.

According to the Swedish proposal, the Czech military will pay 3.9 billion kroons for the modernization of the JAS-39 Gripen.

“The aircraft should be modernized in the current lease period (from 2015 to 2027) for almost 2 billion crowns,” the Czech Defense Ministry said.

Approval required

The current Swedish proposal is acceptable to the Czech Air Force. A smooth transition to the new combat aircraft is also important to ensure trained pilots. The bulk of the F-35A pilots will be former JAS-39 Gripen pilots.

If the Czech Ministry of Defense and the Armed Forces find the Swedish proposal acceptable, they will submit a draft contract to the government, and the signing may take place before the end of the current government’s term.

As a reminder, the Czech Republic signed an agreement with the United States to purchase 24 fifth-generation F-35A Lightning II fighters in January 2024.