Jet fighter deal cancelled

As one of the austerity measures, the government has scrapped plans to buy two dozen supersonic jet fighters for the Czech air force. A Defence Ministry spokesman said the biggest defence contract in the country's history - a plan to buy 24 Gripen fighters from a consortium of Sweden's Saab and Britain's BAE Systems, had been abandoned. The ministry will now submit an alternate plan on how to secure the Czech aerospace after the service life of the country's fleet of ageing Soviet-ear MiG fighters expires.