Slovakia today received the first two of 14 new fighter jets F-16s, which will replace the aircraft produced in Russia, which it has already donated to Ukraine, reported Reuters, quoted by BTA.
Slovakia has relied on its central European neighbors to patrol its airspace since last year, when it handed Ukraine a dozen MiG-29 fighter jets that had to be grounded for lack of parts and maintenance but which Kiev could use in the war you are with Russia.
NATO member Slovakia, which sits on the alliance's eastern flank, is due to receive 12 more F-16s by the end of next year.
Slovakia has officially accepted the first of the manufactured by "Lockheed Martin" planes earlier this year, but they remained in the US for maintenance training.
In 2018, Slovakia signed a contract for the 14 fighter jets worth about 1.6 billion dollars. The first deliveries were delayed by a year after delays during the COVID pandemic.
The planes are becoming increasingly important as NATO strengthens its eastern flank and neighboring Ukraine fights a Russian invasion, Reuters notes.
Slovakia's new government led by Prime Minister Robert Fico, which has been in power since the end of last year, has suspended state military aid to Ukraine and demanded an investigation into the donation of MiG-29 fighter jets made by its predecessors.