New tender expected in June for Slovakian multi role fighter aircraft

Published: 5/26/1999

Inside sources claim that, in June 1999, the Slovak government is expected to announce a tender for new subsonic multi-role fighter aircraft. This may be a reflection of Slovakia"s eagerness to join NATO and to reduce substantially its military budget. Once announced, the competition would be open to several key contenders. These include Czech-American aerospace company, Aero Vodochody"s L-159 ALCA light attack and training aircraft; the British Aerospace BAe Hawk 100; the Italian Aermacchi MB-339 trainer; and the Russian-Italian Aermacchi Yakovlev Yak-130 advanced trainer, that is still under development. Mr Jozef Pivarci, State Secretary at the Slovak Ministry of Defense, refused to make an official statement on the issue, but commented that: “Why should we continue to spend money on maintaining and upgrading maintenance-intensive Russian aircraft when we could procure a new, more affordable fleet of subsonic multirole aircraft?" He added that: “Should such a tender be announced it would have to involve Slovak industry". The Slovak jet-engine maker, Povazske strojarnie Letecke motory (PSLM), is currently developing a derivative of its DV-2 turbofan - dubbed the DV-2S - for the twin-engined Yak-130 advanced trainer project. Defence industry and military sources claim that the programme has little chance of succeeding and is at least three years" away from completion, owing to lack of funds. Mr Martin Blaskovic, General Director of PSLM, publicly acknowledged that the company requires $60 million (2.1 billion Kc) to complete development of the DV-2S engine. Mr Peter Dudak, Director of the Department of Special Production and Licensing at the Slovak Ministry of the Economy, confirmed that: “Currently, Rolls-Royce is entering the final round of negotiations with PSLM and could sign a deal in the near future". Reliable defense industry sources claim that negotiations between Rolls-Royce and PSLM were orchestrated by British Aerospace, which has been aggressively making its presence felt in Slovakia for the past 18 months. However, a deal with a major company such as Rolls-Royce would not only would provide the cash strapped company with work, but potentially sideline the Yak-130 project. Industry insiders believe that, since neither the Russian nor the Italian governments have any intention of procuring the Yak-130, both sides are eager to dump the aircraft on a third country that would complete its development and absorb all the costs. Another serious contender for the Slovak subsonic multirole fighter programme could be the Aero Vodochody L-159 ALCA (advanced light combat aircraft). It is reasonably priced and would reflect the growing regional defence industry cooperation between the Czech and the Slovakian Republics. With new NATO members, Poland and Hungary, also seen as possible L-159 buyers, the resulting economies of scale could drive down the cost of both purchase and maintenance. According to Mr Pivarci, “The best solution for our air force, as well as for the air forces of Poland and Hungary, is a joint procurement which would drive down the final fly-away cost". The Czech government has signed a contract with Aero Vodochody and its strategic partner, Boeing, for the delivery of 72 of the L-159 aircraft. Deliveries are to begin during the second half of 199 and are scheduled for completion in 2002. Despite the logic of the L-159, however, it could face some opposition from the Slovak government as well as the management at PSLM. Industry sources say that PSLM officials have so far refused to meet with Allied Signal, maker of the F-124 engine powering the L-159 aircraft. PSLM declined to comment on this. Apart from negotiating with Rolls-Royce, PSLM management has also met with US jet-engine maker, Pratt & Whitney (PW). According to military and defence industry sources, the Slovak Ministry of Defence favours a wholly western solution. This means that any future procurement would have to involve the compensation of some sort of indirect offset programme for PSLM. During his visit to Bratislava, on May 14th and 15th 1999, to meet with his counterparts from the other three Visegrad member states—Hungary, Poland and Slovakia— Mr Milos Zeman, Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, was believed to have discussed the concept of closer cooperation between the member states. Earlier in May 1999, both Mr Zeman and Mr Pavol Kanis, Slovak Defence Minister, had called for stronger defence ties at the IDET defense trade fair in Brno. Following the two-day meeting with the Visegrad leaders, Mr Zeman met Mr Mikulas Dzurinda, Slovak Prime Minister, for informal discussions. It is believed that the L-159 program was on the agenda.

Article ID: 551