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Austria to Purchase 12 Italian Fighter Jets

Austrian Chancellor and head of People's Party (OeVP) Karl Nehammer looks on as he is on his way to coalition talks with the head of Social Democrats (SPOe) Andreas Babler and head of NEOS party Beate Meinl-Reisinger in Vienna, Austria, December 20, 2024. (Reuters)
Austrian Chancellor and head of People's Party (OeVP) Karl Nehammer looks on as he is on his way to coalition talks with the head of Social Democrats (SPOe) Andreas Babler and head of NEOS party Beate Meinl-Reisinger in Vienna, Austria, December 20, 2024. (Reuters)
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Austria to Purchase 12 Italian Fighter Jets

Austrian Chancellor and head of People's Party (OeVP) Karl Nehammer looks on as he is on his way to coalition talks with the head of Social Democrats (SPOe) Andreas Babler and head of NEOS party Beate Meinl-Reisinger in Vienna, Austria, December 20, 2024. (Reuters)
Austrian Chancellor and head of People's Party (OeVP) Karl Nehammer looks on as he is on his way to coalition talks with the head of Social Democrats (SPOe) Andreas Babler and head of NEOS party Beate Meinl-Reisinger in Vienna, Austria, December 20, 2024. (Reuters)

Austria plans to buy 12 Italian-made M-346 FA fighter jets to replace Saab 105 planes which it decommissioned at the end of 2020, the government said on Saturday.

Citing military sources, newspaper Krone said a letter of intent was due to be signed on Saturday with the Italian Defense Ministry for the planes made by Italy's Leonardo.

The contract is currently being negotiated with the Italian government, the Austrian Defense Ministry said, confirming the planned purchase of the aircraft.

Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer said the deal showed the strength of cooperation between Italy and Austria.

"My special thanks go to (Italian) Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who made a significant contribution to the conclusion of this agreement," Nehammer said in a statement.

The total cost of the purchase has yet to be determined, but about 1 billion euros ($1.04 billion) has been budgeted for it, the newspaper said.

The jets will be used for pilot training, support for ground forces and air defense, the government said.

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Plane Crash Kills 179 in Worst Airline Disaster in South Korea

Firefighters work near the wreckage of a Jeju Air aircraft at Muan International Airport in Muan, South Jeolla Province, South Korea, 29 December 2024. EPA/HAN MYUNG-GU
Firefighters work near the wreckage of a Jeju Air aircraft at Muan International Airport in Muan, South Jeolla Province, South Korea, 29 December 2024. EPA/HAN MYUNG-GU
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Plane Crash Kills 179 in Worst Airline Disaster in South Korea

Firefighters work near the wreckage of a Jeju Air aircraft at Muan International Airport in Muan, South Jeolla Province, South Korea, 29 December 2024. EPA/HAN MYUNG-GU
Firefighters work near the wreckage of a Jeju Air aircraft at Muan International Airport in Muan, South Jeolla Province, South Korea, 29 December 2024. EPA/HAN MYUNG-GU

The deadliest air accident ever in South Korea killed 179 people on Sunday, when an airliner belly-landed and skidded off the end of the runway, erupting in a fireball as it slammed into a wall at Muan International Airport.
Jeju Air flight 7C2216, arriving from the Thai capital Bangkok with 175 passengers and six crew on board, was trying to land shortly after 9 a.m. (0000 GMT) at the airport in the south of the country, South Korea's transport ministry said, according to Reuters.
Two crew members survived and were being treated for injuries.
The deadliest air accident on South Korean soil was also the worst involving a South Korean airline in nearly three decades, the transport ministry said.
The twin-engine Boeing 737-800 was seen in local media video skidding down the runway with no visible landing gear before crashing into navigation equipment and a wall in an explosion of flames and debris.
"Only the tail part retains a little bit of shape, and the rest of (the plane) looks almost impossible to recognize," Muan fire chief Lee Jung-hyun told a press briefing.
The two crew members, a man and a woman, were rescued from the tail section of the burning plane, Lee said. They were being treated at hospitals with medium to severe injuries, said the head of the local public health centre.
Authorities combed nearby areas for bodies possibly thrown from the plane, Lee said.
Investigators are examining bird strikes and weather conditions as possible factors, Lee said. Yonhap news agency cited airport authorities as saying a bird strike may have caused the landing gear to malfunction.
The crash was the worst for any South Korean airline since a 1997 Korean Air crash in Guam that killed more than 200 people, transportation ministry data showed. The previous worst on South Korean soil was an Air China crash that killed 129 in 2002.