The Czech Defence Ministry has received one bid in its tender for a small plane for the transport of government officials in a price range of 700 million crowns and will analyse it in the following days, the ministry's spokesman Jan Pejsek told CTK.
The ministry put up the tender on September 12 and the 15-day submission deadline ended today.
The aircraft should be able to transport 14-19 persons on long-distance flights. The ministry prefers a new machine, but is ready to consider a plane manufactured in 2012 or later if it has a maximum of 4,000 recorded flight hours, Pejsek said.
"The ministry's ambition is to finalise the contract by the end of the year," he added. At the moment, the elected officials use two Airbus A319CJ jet airliners for their journeys abroad, with one of the machines capable of transporting 120 passengers and the other around 40.
The military published a series of requirements on its website stating that the maximum lift-off weight of the aircraft should be 75,500 kilograms and its flight range should be between 3,700 to 8,890 kilometers depending on the number of passengers.
At the moment, the military is also using a twin-engine Bombardier Challenger 601 business jet capable of transporting 19 passengers with a maximum lift-off weight of 20,500 kilograms. This aircraft's service will end in 2021.
