Czech government attempts to make fighter tender a transparent process

Published: 6/17/1999

In an effort to improve transparency, the Czech government will hold a seminar for manufacturers and governments bidding in the tender to supply the new fighter aircraft. Mr Vladimir Vetchy, Defence Minister, acknowledged that the government had “ decided to hold the discussion in the coming weeks in order to put aside fears of some of the participants that they would not be competing on a level playing field. He confirmed that all governments, to whom the Czech Republic has sent a request for information, would be invited to participate in the gathering. These include the governments of France, Germany, Britain, Sweden and the USA. The US government, which is offering the BoeingF/A-18 and the Lockheed Martin F-16, has been most concerned about the transparency of the tender. Ms Jocelyn Greene, spokeswoman for the US Embassy, said that the US believes that “certain points in the tender letter need clarification and elaboration". According to Ms Greene, "A conference should contribute to assuring transparency and fairness in the tender process, enabling bidders to make offers based on full information and thus assisting the Czechs to make the best possible decision." Unlike manufacturers from other countries, US companies are bound to use the US government as a go-between in any foreign sale of defence material by a process known as foreign military sales. So far, companies such as British Aerospace and Saab, which are offering the JAS-39 Gripen multirole fighter, have the luxury of dealing directly with middlemen companies which, according to Czech law, must be used in procurement issues. But the Czech government is currently changing the law so that all future large-scale procurement issues, such as the purchase of new fighters, will be dealt with by a government commission. Mr Vetchy confirmed that: "We are now in the process of setting up a commission for the upcoming fighter tender". He claimed that the commission would consist of "key" ministers who would have an equal say. Western diplomatic and defence industry sources suggest that this is not the case. According to those sources, Mr Milos Zeman, Czech Prime Minister has appointed Mr Pavel Mertlik, Deputy Prime Minister, as the unofficial head of the commission. Mr Mertlik, who does not head his own ministry, nevertheless enjoys the favour of Mr Zeman, and is rumoured to be jockeying for a post either as Minister of Finance or Minister of Trade and Industry. The Czech Air Force is undergoing an ambitious transformation. Deliveries of 72 new Aero Vodochody L-159 light attack and training aircraft are scheduled to begin during the second half of 1999. The request for information for new fighters issued on May 19th 1999 is designed to replace existing Russian-made MiG-21 fighters and Sukhoi Su-22 and Su-25 tactical strike aircraft. Senior-ranking Czech Defence Ministry sources have said that the air force will take delivery of an additional seven Mil-24 Hind combat support helicopters to bolster the existing fleet. The new Russian helicopters would be used to replace aircraft lost in accidents, or cannibalised for spare parts. Funding for the aircraft would be provided by a debt swap with Russia, which owes the Czech Republic more than $3.5billion (126 billion Kc) in government-to-government debt.

Article ID: 600