Hungary signed the final contract for the purchasing of 14 JAS-39C/D Gripen fighters

All the countries in Eastern Europe need to replace their fighters. And that means all, including Greece and Turkey, who both use a relatively small number of old F-16 versions, while the bulk of their air forces is composed of old F-4 Phantom and F-5 fighters.
The other, former communist countries, have large air forces composed mainly of MiG-21, Su-22, Su-23, Su-24, Su-25, MiG-23 and MiG-29 fighters. Although the latter is compatible with current USAF fighters, the others will definetly need to be replaced until 2010. By far the largest air force in the region is the Romanian Air Force, which currently uses only 110 upgraded MiG-21 Lancers in active service, but has 164 MiG-21, 40 MiG-23, 123 IAR-93 and 18 MiG-29's in storage, all with flight resource available.
Except Romania and Bulgaria, the other former Warsaw Pact countries (except Albania), Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary, plus Austria, have long been expressing their desire to acquisition new fighters.
While Poland and Slovakia have been more cautious with expressing their chosing, Hungary, the Czech Republic and especially Austria, have swapped, signed and canceled contracts on an assembly line. Austria has signed and then canceled contracts for the purchase of jet fighters almoust on a monthly basis, in the last three years or so. The Czech Republic and Hungary have also long fluctuated between American F-16's and Swedish Gripen's.
In 10 March 2003, the Hungarian Parliament has signed authorized the Government to start the acquisition program for fourteen (14) newly built, NATO standard JAS-39C/D Gripen jet fighters. This is the definitive choise expressed by Hungary, which for the past three years has been fluctuating between the purchase of second hand US Block 15 F-16A/B from AMARC, new US Block 40 F-16A/B's, second hand JAS-39A/B Gripen (currently used by Sveska Flygvapen -Swedish Air Force), and new JAS-39A/B Gripen's.
In the end, Hungary decided to purchase 14 brand-new JAS-39C/D's, upgraded and modified to NATO standard, which will also include the capability to convert meters/feet displays in flight, OBOGS, HOTAS, color displays, etc.
Hungary's plan for the future is to have one 14-unit-large squadron of Gripens, supplemented by one 12-14 units squadron of MiG-29's, for self-defence missions only (not to send abroad for NATO missions).
Hungary currently has 27 3rd generation MiG-29 Fulcrum C's and UB's, given to it by Russian in 1994, as payment for some debts the Soviet Union, and later Russia, gathered towards Hungary. Out of 27 units, 12 were operational in 2002 and 2003.
Roughly around the same period (March-April 2003), Poland also decided to purchase 48 post-level Block 52M+ F-16C/D's.
These are the first two countries to sign such contracts.
Here are the Future Eastern European Air Forces programs.

Copyright ©2003 Sorin A Crasmarelu

10 March 2003

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