LOCKHEED MARTIN Poland orders U.S.-made F-16 jet fighters

WARSAW, Poland (AP) -- Poland announced Friday it has chosen Lockheed Martin F-16 jet fighters to modernize its air force to NATO standards in an order worth some $3.5 billion.
The move comes three years after the former Soviet bloc nation joined the western alliance.
Lockheed Martin beat out two rival European bids with a U.S. government-backed offer to supply 48 of the planes as well as weapons, pilot training and investment in Poland to help offset the cost of replacing Soviet-made fighters.
The Gripen jet, made by Sweden's Saab and Britain's BAE Systems, was considered the U.S. plane's main rival, in part because it was cheaper and would have made a considerable difference for Poland's strapped budget. The French-made Mirage 2000 was also in the running.
But the F-16 had been seen as the most logical choice since it is widely used by NATO nations, and Poles view the United States as their chief ally.
"The advanced F-16 will establish Poland's air force as an important contributor in NATO and an aviation leader in Central Europe," the U.S. Air Force said in a prepared statement.
Poland needs 48 fighter jets by 2008 to replace its Soviet-built MiGs and bring the country's military up to NATO standards. The first 16 planes are to arrive in 2006, the remaining 32 within the next two years.
Poland is the largest of the three former Soviet bloc countries that joined NATO in 1999. The other two countries, Hungary and the Czech Republic, opted for Gripens, but the Czechs canceled their order to free up reconstruction aid after devastating floods hit the capital Prague last summer.