The Defence Ministry spokesperson, Danka Capáková, cited problems on the manufacturer’s part as the reason for the delay.
“Therefore, the Defence Ministry has postponed advance payments until new appendices to the contract are signed,” Capáková told the TASR newswire on January 4.
During negotiations held in connection with this, the ministry managed to obtain a discount on the original price and a more favourable instalment schedule, she added. Originally, each plane should have cost €34.5 million.
Slovakia selected the two Spartan aircraft via a tender in 2008. The producer is supposed to supply the second one in early 2018.
Several modules will be available to the Slovak army, enabling the army to use the planes, for example, to transport wounded people, extinguish fires and drop cargo from the air.
The Slovak army has used Soviet Antonov An-26 military cargo planes until now. The last one was in service until February 4, 2016, when its serviceable lifespan expired.
