McDONNELL Douglas (MDC) has offered to place production of parts for its F-18 in the Czech Republic, if the central-European nation selects the aircraft as its new fighter. F-18 parts would be produced by Czech aircraft manufacturer Aero Vodochody, under an offset agreement, accompanying the sale or lease of F-18s to the Republic.
MDC has already offered Poland final assembly of the F-18 at PZl-Mielec, if it selects the US fighter. The company is also talking to Skoda Plzen in the Czech Republic about commercial offset work. Hungary is also considering the F-18, and MDC is discussing offset possibilities, some of which may involve the Danubian maintenance centre.
The US company says that it will offer the Czechs offset work even if, as seems likely, they decide to lease, rather than buy, new fighters. The Czech air force completed an evaulation of the F-18 in the USA in November 1996.
The Philippine air force has completed a US evaluation of the F-18 undergoing flight-simulator training at MDC and flying a US Marine Corps F-18D two-seater at the US Navy's China Lake, California, test centre.
Source: Flight International