Defence Minister J. Naď outlines MOD's major steps towards delivering Armed Forces modernisation

Today at a press conference, Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď along with Chief of Defence Gen Daniel Zmeko officially outlined the way ahead for the MOD with the 8x8 Armoured Infantry Fighting Vehicle, 4x4 Multirole Tactical Vehicle, and 3D Radar Systems modernisation programmes.

At the start of the press conference, Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď stated: "You know that I've been a long-standing proponent of SVK Armed Forces modernisation, because they deserve it and  particularly need it." He made it clear that the emergency situation caused by COVID-19 will have a major impact on the defence budget. "Because of that – and let me emphasise this – the Chief of Defence and I will do the absolute maximum to make sure that every euro invested into modernisation ends up with soldiers," he emphasised.

On the modernisation programmes, the Defence Minister pointed to the need for transparency. "Everything that does not need to be secret will be public. You have my public promise," he said, noting that he has already taken concrete steps to this end. Furthermore, he underlined that his next steps will also reflect the need for systemicity, on which he has already engaged with Armed Forces leaders, defence experts, and internal and external control bodies.

Head of the MOD considers the 8x8 Armoured Infantry Fighting Vehicle Programme to be a manual for non-transparency, which is not aligned with Slovakia's ongoing commitment to NATO, one to build a heavy mechanised brigade. All things considered, he has decided not to proceed with the project at this time. "We will engage in intense talks on the future commitments of the Ministry of Defence towards our international partners as part of the NATO Capability Targets. Thus, the future of the 8x8 IFV programme will depend on the outcome of the talks. For sure, we are not going to procure something that is not in line with our commitments," he said. But if during the talks it is decided that the 8x8 IFV programme should go ahead, the number of vehicles will be reviewed significantly and an orderly procurement process, involving subcontractors, will be conducted. "There will be no more of so-called "in-house contracts" for "our" company and no avoidance of public procurement procedures. That era is over," emphasised the Minister.

The Minister of Defence has today officially announced a definitive stop to the 4x4 Multirole Tactical Vehicle Programme. "The project was prepared in a non-transparent manner, which was, after all, confirmed by the Office for Public Procurement. For this reason, the Office put a stop to it  and the MOD appealed against its decision. Still today, we are going to initiate interdepartmental consultation on the proposal to cancel the former Government's decision on this project. I suppose the incumbent Government will fully identify with this proposal, and we will definitely cancel the project as it stands," he explained, noting that the MOD will withdraw its appeal against the Office for Public Procurement's decision. However, if in the future a decision is made that 4x4 multirole tactical vehicles are required, they will be selected through a fair and open procurement process.

From the standpoint of Armed Forces modernisation, the top priority is now assigned to the procurement of 3D radar systems. "If I am not mistaken, we are now left with the only one radar and its life cycle will be over next year. Inevitably, we need new radar systems," said Minister Naď. He rejected the way the former MOD leadership wanted to procure the radar systems. "It was supposed to resemble an international tender, however, it was underway without regard to the rules governing the award of public service contracts. And a lot of questions and international complaints were raised over the tender," he explained. The Minister wants to manage this acquisition process through to completion in a truly transparent manner. Due to the technical conditions, he cannot afford any substantial time delay that a new competition may require. "We are going to allow the countries that participated in the radars selection process to submit one more final bid. Over the next two months, experts from both the Armed Forces and the MOD will prepare requirements for the new radar systems in order to ensure the so-called comprehensive protection of [SVK] airspace. Once the requirements are written down and put inside sealed envelopes, I will personally hand them over to representatives of embassies and they will have time to present their final offers." In this context, the MOD has today referred the proposal to amend the former Government's decision on the project for interdepartmental consultation.

The Defence Minister's move on Armed Forces modernisation has the backing of Chief of Defence Gen Daniel Zmeko. "The Armed Forces have in the long run signalled the need for a review of the Long-Term Defence Development Plan, because it is not up-to-date, nor is it being delivered – whether that's in terms of timeline, resources or content. We are pragmatists and we understand that we have changed the conditions for funding the MOD. That is why we will have to reprioritise the Long-Term [Defence Development] Plan in its specific parts, and of course, so is true of the scale of individual acquisitions and specific needs of the Armed Forces," he said. At the same time, he announced that the Armed Forces are going to update their requirements on new assets and total numbers. "The assets we will require will be in line with NATO requirements and with what is instrumental to delivering SVK Armed Forces missions, as being consistent with the SVK Constitution and  laws," said Chief of Defence Gen Daniel Zmeko.