Alenia has been offering its transport planes to the Czech military for some time. In April, the Czech Defence Ministry and EADS signed a memorandum of understanding on the swap of five L-159s for one newly manufactured transport plane by the Spanish firm CASA C-295. The ministry said CASA Reports: Airbus and Boeing Could See More Delivery Delays ...
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But Alenia said previously the ministry had not proposed them such a possibility. Alenia now decided they would try to find a buyer for Czech L-159s in exchange for the purchase of four to six Spartan C-27Js. "We have been preparing an offer for the Defence Ministry that will soon be completed," Alenia's representatives said. They said Alenia had several prospective buyers of the Czech L-159s. It also claims that the Spanish plane does not meet some of the conditions the Czech military has set. Alenia would like to participate in an open tender, its representatives said. They said the deal between the ministry and EADS was not transparent. They said the Spanish firm manufactured the planes of the same class as the L-159. It seems to be strange that EADS wants to buy and resell light combat fighters as the L-159s, Alenia said earlier. Apart from a swap, the EADS offers to sell another three planes, including logistics, Defence Ministry spokesman Andrej Cirtek. The draft memorandum includes an option for EADS for another five L-159s and an option for another CASAs for the Czech Republic that might be, if need be, replaced with an option for the transport Airbus A400M. The Defence Ministry is yet to conduct talks with EADS for some months and eventually draft an agreement for the government.
(Ceske Noviny)
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