February 16, 2026 at 1:17 PM
Slovakia in talks with US to buy four more F-16s
The additional jets would enable the country to shoulder its own air-policing missions, according to Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico.
A U.S. Air Force F-16 perfoms a display flight at Al-Maktoum International Airport during the Dubai Airshow 2025 in Dubai on Nov. 17, 2025.
(Giuseppe Cacace/AFP via Getty Images)WARSAW, Poland — Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has announced his country is in talks with the United States to buy an additional four F-16 fighter jets on top of the 14 copies already ordered.In his announcement, made following Fico’s Feb. 15 meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the prime minister said the acquisition could enable Slovakia to cease its reliance on allies for air-policing missions.“There’s an interest to increase numbers to 18 fighter jets, and now we’re discussing the topic about how to get four more of the planes to our armed forces because … it’s not a good sign of sovereignty that our airspace is protected by planes of the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland,” Fico was quoted in a statement released by the State Department.“We get into this sad situation because our military equipment was gifted to Ukraine from 2022 to 2023,” he added.Fico was referring to the previous Slovak government’s decision to donate 13 outdated Mikoyan MiG-29 fighters to Ukraine, combined with other weapons, to back the country’s defense against Russia’s ongoing invasion.