Defense Ministry declines latest American offer for used F-16 fighter jets

Deputy Defense Minister Janusz Zemke announced yesterday that Poland will not accept the U.S.'s latest offer for the purchase of 60 used F-16 fighter jets. The necessary modernization of the F-16s would be too expensive given that the aircraft would be used in the domestic army for at least 10 to 20 years. This week the second round of negotiations for aircraft sales to the Polish military began with British-Swedish Gripen. Next week France, which has the Mirage-2000, plans to announce its offer. "The F-16, especially the latest version, is really an excellent plane," said Zemke. "We strongly hope that during the scheduled talks with the U.S. we will get a more attractive price and better offset offers." (Rzeczpospolita, p. A3) P.J.