Slovakia gets first two US-made F-16 fighter jets

Slovakia has received its first two US-made F-16 fighter jets, which the government on Tuesday said would "significantly" boost the NATO and EU member's defence capabilities.

Bratislava will ultimately get a total of 14 jets according to the deal worth some 1.6 billion euros ($1.7 billion), its largest-ever military purchase.

The aircraft are to replace the former communist country's ageing fleet of Soviet-designed, Russian-made MiG-29 fighter jets.

Last year, Slovakia donated its grounded MiG warplanes to Ukraine, becoming the second NATO member -- following Poland -- to pledge the aircraft.

"The new F-16s will significantly improve the capabilities of our armed forces, allow us to protect our country more effectively," the defence ministry said in a statement.

The first two jets from the deal concluded in 2018 touched down at the Kuchyna military airbase in western, Slovakia on Monday evening.

Their arrival was delayed around two years because of the Covid pandemic and a lack of semiconductor chips.

"These fighter jets make Slovakia a stronger country and also strengthen NATO," US ambassador to Slovakia Gautam Rana said.