Babiš: Czechia should withdraw from deal if US doesn't deliver F-35s on time

If the US doesn't deliver the promised F-35 fighter jets to Czechia within the deadline agreed in the deal between the two countries, head of the opposition ANO party and former prime minister Andrej Babiš hopes it will be possible to withdraw from the agreement, he told Czech newspapers Novinky and Právo in an interview published on Saturday, adding that Czechia didn't need the jets.

Defence Minister Jana Černochová and US Ambassador to Czechia Bijan Sabet signed an agreement on the purchase of 24 fifth-generation F-35s for the Czech military on Monday. Czechia will pay CZK 150 billion for the fighter jets made by the US manufacturer Lockheed Martin, the most expensive military purchase in the country’s modern history. The first jets should arrive in the country in 2031, the rest by 2035.