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Czech army to fit Gripens with new equipment in next two years

Xinhua, May 23, 2015 Adjust font size:

Czech military will fit the JAS-39 Gripen fighters with a new equipment in 2016-2017 to extend their capabilities, Czech air force commander Libor Stefanik said on Friday.

According to Stefanik, the fighters will be able to operate against ground targets and will be equipped with Link-16 for an online exchange of data with the allies.

Czech Defence Minister Martin Stropnicky said that providing of the new equipment for Gripens was under the new contract on the leasing contract signed with Sweden in 2014.

He described the lease of the aircraft as "one of the very important and fortunate steps taken in the past."

To substitute the Soviet-made MiG-21 planes, Czech government signed a contract on the lease of 14 Swedish aircraft for 10 years in June 2004.

In 2014, the Czech government approved an extension of the lease of the Gripens until 2027 with a two-year option.

The acquisition of the planes was accompanied by controversies and corruption suspicions, which was broken by Swedish television in February 2007. The Prague High Attorney's Office decided in 2014 that no one will be prosecuted in the case and shelved it. Endit