Edited for brevity.
Poland on Friday signed a deal to buy 48 U.S.-made F-16 jet fighters for $3.5 billion, the biggest defense contract by a former Soviet bloc country since the end of the Cold War. The Polish government announced last December that it had chosen the U.S. government-backed offer over two rival European offers — the Swedish-British Gripen jet and the French-made Mirage 2000. But negotiating the investment in the so-called offset deals took several more months.
Along with the purchase of planes from Lockheed Martin Corp., Polish and U.S. officials concluded an agreement setting out U.S. transfer of technology, investment in Poland and business deals with Polish manufacturers that the government valued at between $7.5 billion and $12 billion. Lockheed Martin, based in Bethesda, Md., will be replacing Poland's Soviet-made MiG fighters as the country modernizes its military to NATO standards. The purchase contract specifies items of delivery including the Lockheed Martin aircraft, spare engines, missiles and bombs as well as technical details and the terms of training for Polish pilots. The aircraft will be built in Fort Worth, Texas, and deliveries will start in 2006.
The offset program is to run over 10 years. Major projects include plans by General Motors to expand a plant in Gliwice, Poland, and a pledge by Motorola to invest in a state-of-the-art communication system for Polish public services. Polish plants are to make engines and engine parts for Lockheed Martin and for Pratt & Whitney. U.S. companies, including a subsidiary of the Houston-based Halliburton Co., are to modernize a major refinery at Gdansk and cooperate with Polish pharmaceuticals makers. Polish leaders hope the deals will create jobs and boost the economy, which slowed to about 1 percent growth last year. |