Czech warplanes to protect Slovakia amid possible jet transfers to Ukraine

Slovakia seeks protection for its airspace after Soviet MiG-29s grounded and American F-16s delayed

Soviet-era MiG-29 jets fly with American-made F-16 fighters in Poland. AP

Czech warplanes will step in to protect the skies of neighbouring Slovakia after its fighter jets were earmarked for possible delivery to Ukraine and their replacement with American F-16s was delayed.

An air force deployment will be approved to guard the airspace of Slovakia at its fellow Nato member's request, said Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala.

“I don’t see any problem there. The government will certainly approve it,” Mr Fiala said as he appeared alongside Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger.

Slovakia borders Ukraine and has provided weapons including air defence systems and anti-tank missiles to aid its neighbour’s resistance to Russia.

Mr Heger has suggested that Ukraine could also receive some of his country’s Soviet-era MiG-29 fighters if alternative arrangements can be made to defend Slovakia’s airspace.

And the MiG-29s are being grounded by Slovakia in any case because of concerns about having them serviced by Russian technicians and relying on outdated military hardware.

The planes were introduced by the USSR’s air force in the 1980s but have remained in operation since the end of the Cold War with Russian and other former Warsaw Pact militaries. The Czech Republic and Slovakia separated in 1993.

Slovakia’s military ordered 14 F-16 fighters from America’s Lockheed Martin in 2018. The planes are being built at a plant in South Carolina, but the timeline for their delivery has been pushed back.

The first F-16s were due to arrive this year, but they are now expected “sometime in 2024”, Defence Minister Jaroslav Nad said at talks with his US counterpart Lloyd Austin in April.

Slovakia has also held talks with Poland about protecting its airspace while its MiG-29s are grounded, while Germany and the Netherlands have provided American-made Patriot anti-missile systems.

Poland made a surprise suggestion in March that its own MiG-29s could be sent to the US-operated Ramstein Air Base in Germany in anticipation of them being used in Ukraine.

But the idea was gently rejected by the Pentagon, which said it feared an escalation if planes were flown from an American base into Ukraine, potentially implicating Nato’s Article 5 mutual defence guarantee.

Nato rejected for similar reasons a plea by Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to establish a no-fly zone over his country to prevent Russian bombardments.