PRAGUE, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- Governments of the Czech Republic and Slovakia agreed on a cooperation plan aimed to protect the airspaces of both countries against terrorism and other non-military threats, announced Czech Defence Minister Martin Stropnicky on Monday over Twitter.
The idea was previously welcomed by the NATO members as it doesn't contradict the major goal of the Alliance to solve military threats in the European Union.
Stropnicky said the agreement provides for cooperation in those cases that can not be solved with the help of NATO air defence system.
For example, when a civilian aircraft is attacked by terrorists, or supposing that the capabilities of one of the states have failed, then such mutual help will be very useful.
The help will come only at certain non-military situations, such as when a suspicious aircraft detected heading to the territory of the neighbouring state, or if one of the armies experiences difficulty with some equipment or has personnel problems, according to officials. In the meantime the Czech and Slovak armies will continue to ensure their joint airspaces protection separately.
The Slovakia Air Force currently uses Mig-29 aircrafts and plans purchasing or leasing Sweden JAS-39 Gripen aircrafts, which are already in use by the Czech Air Force.
The agreement is waiting for its approval by the Czech Parliament and President, while the Slovakia's government has already signed their consent. When ratified, it will come into force in the summer of 2017.
Such protection plan has been a result of long-term cooperation and joint air force training of the Czech and Slovak armies.
A single purchase
