She said that as the price of military equipment increases around the world, it is clear that the price of the lease will also correspond to the increased costs. However, there are items on the menu that the Czech side does not think the Czech Republic should pay for. she pointed out. Gripens are, according to Černochová at the end of the life cycle and maintenance is more expensive than before, but at the same time the planes should be modernized. According to her, the Czech side is discussing with its Swedish colleagues what can be included in the agreement.
“I informed the minister that the offer from the Swedish side that my colleagues received was such that we are not satisfied with it. I asked the Minister, from his position as Minister of Defense, to enter into that process if possible with some of the information that we communicated to him here today. And we agreed that it was in both his country’s interest and our country’s interest to make that deal happen and to use Gripen aircraft until the end of their life cycle, as planned,” said Černochová.
Jonson said today that negotiations to extend the lease of the aircraft must take place mainly with the Swedish Armaments Agency and he is glad that the talks can continue.
Rent for approximately 1.7 billion crowns
The Czech Republic leases 14 Swedish JAS-39 Gripen aircraft for approximately 1.7 billion crowns per year. The government is negotiating with Sweden to extend the lease until 2035, when the Gripen will replace 24 American F-35 aircraft. The government approved the purchase of fifth-generation aircraft for 150 billion crowns last September and confirmed by signing at the end of January.
Jonson signed a declaration with Černochová in Prague today on the strengthening of defense cooperation between the Czech Republic and Sweden, which expands the current cooperation. The document and negotiations included, for example, the involvement of the Czech defense industry in the production of CV90 infantry fighting vehicles or further support for Ukraine.
According to Jonson, the war in Ukraine is a warehouse war. “We’re struggling with what we can do to expand production as well,” he said today at the Globsec security conference in Prague. According to him, the key is to connect the demand and send a strong signal about the demand to the defense industry so that it too invests in production capacities.
According to Jonson, one of the challenges is that the prices of defense equipment are increasing, at the same time, according to him, the delivery time is long. There is more money in defense now than there was a decade ago, but less time, he said. Previously, he said, time was not considered a commodity because people thought there would be no war. “But now we cannot rule out an armed attack against Sweden or one of the other allies,” he added.
The Czech Republic is purchasing 246 CV90 tracked infantry fighting vehicles from Swedish supplier BAE Systems for 59.7 billion crowns from Sweden in the form of an intergovernmental agreement. The purchase was approved by the Czech cabinet last May.
