According to the Ministry of Defence of the Slovak Republic, the United States plans to deliver two more aircraft by the end of this year, with the remaining jets to arrive by the end of the first quarter of 2027. The transfer of the pair took place in two stages, first from the United States to Lajes Air Base in the Azores and then onward to their home base, with aerial refuelling provided on both legs by US Air Force Boeing KC-135R tankers.
The intergovernmental Letter of Offer and Acceptance with the United States was concluded in December 2018 and is valued at USD 1.9 billion. Under the agreement, Slovakia ordered fourteen F-16C/D Fighting Falcon Block 70 aircraft (12 “C” and 2 “D”), initially scheduled for delivery in 2022–2023 but significantly delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Slovak Republic is the first European operator of the F-16C/D Fighting Falcon Block 70/72 multirole combat aircraft.
