Czech-Slovak consultations on air-defense
With presidents, heads of government and foreign ministers from 40 countries in Prague for the NATO summit it is not surprising that numerous bilateral meetings have been taking place on the fringes of the summit itself. One such example is Wednesday's one on one meeting between the Czech Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla and his Slovak counterpart Mikulas Dzurinda, who discussed the possibility of a joint air defense system. Such a plan would have been unrealistic had Slovakia not been invited to join NATO.
"The government recommended to consult this matter with our Slovak colleagues. They've made it clear that in a couple of months, after the Prague summit, they will also have their considerations about the future of the Slovak air-force. And I think it is logical if we exchange views, where we stand and where we are going. I'm not saying that as a result of these talks we will have - tomorrow - a declaration on a joint tender. We are at the beginning of the process and only consultations will show us to what extent it is possible. But I imagine that somewhere at a later stage we will have what you can call 'a joint approach'."
How the Czech Republic should secure its air defense is a question heatedly debated among Czech air force pilots, who have waited a long time for quality aircraft and enough money for training. Jan Vana is a former fighter jet pilot and here's how he feels about the matter.
"This is a very personal question for me. Because I am a former jet pilot I would love for the Czech airforce to have hundreds of jets. However we do prioritize and if the Czech government decides that replacing the aging jets is not a priority at the given moment because of the flood costs I must accept it and I can live with that decision. At the same time we must be aware of the necessity to secure the country's air space."
One option discussed is that we could depend on our NATO allies for air protection but I heard some experts say that in the event of an emergency they wouldn't get here fast enough....
"There have been many analyses done on this - with all the potential scenarios included. You must distinguish between a military threat and a non-military threat. As far as a military threat goes we believe that we are well covered by our membership in NATO. In fact, NATO says that that there is an abundance of fighter jets -three thousand or so. They would be able to get here in time and we have built facilities to receive them. We built two air bases to receive reinforcements when needed. But -and here is the BUT- there is also the possibility of a non-military threat -something like the September 11th attacks. This might happen at any given moment and for this the three thousand fighters, a thousand miles away, have a limited value. And then you face a dilemma as a nation : you have the jets or you don't. That is the bottom line of the problem."
What about the option to buy older planes?
"Cost factor. When you speak about a fighter jet you are not talking about a platform only. You are speaking about a system which is part of a super system which we call defense or security. When you have a platform you must also have logistics, training, a weapons system and a command and control system. And everything - or most of these elements are aligned to a platform. So if you change it twice you must invest twice. If you buy older planes -in a short period you will have to replace them because you are almost at the end of their life cycle. If you get new ones you are saving resources in the long run. Because the new ones can be used for thirty -thirty-five years. So in the long run you are saving. "
