JULY 29, 2024 – Two F-16 Fighting Falcons piloted by U.S. Air Force Col. Eduardo Castaneda, 122nd Fighter Wing, and Capt. Sean Williams, Defense Contract Management Agency in Greenville, South Carolina, landed at 8:10 p.m. July 22 at Malacky Air Base, Slovakia.
The fighter aircraft were the first of 14 F-16s to be delivered to the Slovak Air Force. The aircraft were purchased by the Slovak Ministry of Defense from aircraft manufacturer Lockheed Martin four years ago.
“My wish is that all Slovak citizens will feel safe and secure during these turbulent times,” said Peter Pellegrini, president of Slovakia, speaking through an interpreter. “May that feeling of security be assisted by these two new aircraft, their pilots and crew.”
The delivery of the F-16s marks another milestone in the 31-year partnership between Slovakia and the Indiana National Guard under the Department of Defense National Guard Bureau State Partnership Program, which has grown to include 106 nations.
“The Indiana National Guard and the Slovak armed forces have shared a strong and productive partnership for decades, and it’s fitting that we will now simultaneously operate modern F-16 fighters, maintaining our dominance in the air,” Maj. Gen. Dale Lyles, Indiana’s adjutant general, said earlier this year.
Pellegrini was the prime minister in 2018 when the government signed the $1.8 billion deal to purchase 14 U.S. F-16 Block 70/72 fighter jets in a move meant to replace the obsolete Soviet-made MiG-29 jets.
Under the previous government, Slovakia grounded its MiGs in the summer of 2022 due to a lack of spare parts and expertise to help maintain them after Russian technicians returned home following Russia’s full invasion of Ukraine.
The Slovak Air Force received the block 70 variant of the F-16, today’s most advanced version. It is operated in only six countries. More than 3,000 F-16s are flown across 25 countries.
By Indiana Air National Guard