Nearly 4,000 new XP-1814 Tactical Combat Vests purchased to protect Slovak service personnel

A total of 3,986 XP-1814 Tactical Combat Vests with additional modular attachments for neck, arms and groin protection have been supplied to the Slovak Armed Forces. This combat body armour system will supplement the Individual Ballistic Protection Systems (IBPS) in service with the SVK Army's manoeuvre units, as well as providing the needed level of protection for Army soldiers in combat on the battlefield.

On ballistic protection for personnel in a combat role, Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď said: “As has been demonstrated by the latest lessons learned from operations in Ukraine, good quality individual ballistic protection systems are often one of the decisive factors for the survivability of the soldier on the battlefield. Given that the life and health of our soldiers come first for us, we could not accept missing out on this capability in our Armed Forces."

Minister Naď added that most body armour systems used by regular soldiers in the Slovak Armed Forces were procured as many as 20 years ago, whereas in addition to the end of their service life and usability and failure to comply with the level of ballistic protection required, they are incompatible with the current modular load carriage system. For these reasons, such personal equipment is gradually being phased out of MOD inventories.

The XP-1814 Tactical Combat Vests worth €4.6m were procured through the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA), which itself is the ultimate guarantee of transparency and adherence to the rules of international competitive bidding.