Slovak Chief of Defence General Daniel Zmeko: “Last year was a breakthrough year for much-needed modernisation“

Last year was amongst the most challenging years in the history of the Slovak Armed Forces. Apart from the fading pandemic, Slovak Armed Forces service personnel were mainly involved in delivering their core task of guaranteeing the defence of Slovakia and its citizens in the wake of the unprovoked aggression against our eastern neighbour.

Praising the distinctive role of service personnel in the SVK military's operations, Chief of Defence General Daniel Zmeko said: “In maintaining Defenceʼs responsiveness, service personnel are considered to be the most valuable asset of the Slovak Armed Forces. Their professionalism, loyalty to the state, ability to make sacrifices to the benefit of SVK national interests and citizens attest to the highest quality of our Armed Forces. This has been especially so over the past three years when, once called into action in crisis situations, Slovak Armed Forces service personnel have been both willing and capable of doing everything expected and required of them by our citizens.”

For the provision of quality Terms and Conditions of Service (TACOS) for regular soldiers, as General Zmeko put it, the pace of investment in the modernisation of equipment, weaponry and infrastructure needs to be kept up. He underlined that the ongoing modernisation projects are fully consistent with Allied requirements, while still reflecting the demands on the Whole Force's readiness.

On the state of the Slovak Army, General Zmeko said: “We have taken important strategic decisions regarding the Slovak Army. Contracts for the Armyʼs essential modernisation programmes have now been signed. This especially holds true for the new Infantry Fighting Vehicles (IFVs), both wheeled and tracked. And in the near future, I believe we will also make a decision to procure the Slovak Armyʼs new Main Battle Tank (MBT). It finally feels like taking a new breath.”

On defence infrastructure, the head of the SVK Armed Forces noted: “Also at present, we are restoring the military barracks that were, only just recently, going to be sold off as surplus to requirement. Needless to say, we very much miss the large number of barracks and training estates that have already been sold off. Whatʼs more, nothing very much has been invested in the existing remaining infrastructure over the longer term. A multi-billion investment debt has been run up in this way. Nevertheless, there are projects finally underway to address that, largely thanks to the good decisions of our MOD leadership. All in all, tackling infrastructure will remain an issue in the next decade at least.”

On the tasks related to the war in Ukraine, the Chief of Defence pointed out that the Armed Forces are in relatively good condition and have good personnel who have been trained to the required military standards. “As far as our reaction to the war in Ukraine is concerned, we have been carrying out a wide range of tasks now for a long period. While certain tasks have been known from the beginning, others have gradually been made public and spoken about. And indeed, our forces have acquitted themselves excellently in performance of their tasks! From guarding the border, through to providing assistance to police forces and addressing other security challenges. That no problems with professionalism, morale and discipline have so far been reported is one of the pictures of our strength and resilience,” General Zmeko added.

Last year the SVK Armed Forces continued to support Ukraine, but in no way did the packages of materiel and training aid for the defenders of Ukraine downgrade Slovakia's defences. The armed forces trained over 600 Ukrainian troops under the battlefield skills training programme. In addition, they transported 11,500 tonnes of military materiel from their own reserve stocks to Ukraine, as well as supporting the movements of defence aid from other countries across Slovakia to Ukraine.