Military of Slovakia
| Military of Slovakia Ozbrojené Sily Slovenskej Republiky |
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![]() Armed Forces of Slovak Republic coat-of-arms |
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| Service branches | Ground Forces of the Slovak Republic, Slovak Air Force |
| Leadership | |
| Commander-in-Chief | President of the Republic Ivan Gašparovič |
| Chief of staff | Chief of the General Staff: Generálmajor Peter Vojtek |
| Manpower | |
| Military age | 17 years of age |
| Conscription | Abolished in 2006 |
| Available for military service |
1,413,079, age 15–49 |
| Fit for military service |
1,162,282, age 15–49 |
| Reaching military age annually |
40,000 |
| Active personnel | 14,000 |
| Expenditures | |
| Budget | $1.35 billion (2009)[1] |
| Percent of GDP | 1.5% (2009) |
The Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic number 14,000 uniformed personnel.[2] Slovakia joined NATO in March 2004.[3] From 2006 the army transformed into a fully professional organization and compulsory military service was abolished.
Contents |
[edit] Structure of the Armed Forces
- Ground Forces - are made up of two active mechanized infantry brigades.
- Air and Air defense Forces - comprising one wing of fighters, one wing of utility helicopters, and one SAM brigade.
- Training and Support Forces - comprising NSE - National Support Element (Multifunctional Battalion, Transport Battalion, Repair Battalion), Garrison of capital city Bratislava, as well as Training Battalion, and various logistics and communication and information bases.
- Miscellaneous forces under the direct command of the General Staff - the 5th Special Forces Regiment
Slovakia's plan for defense reform is the Force 2015 Long-Term Plan, which strikes a balance between requirements and resources and which envisions a professionalized, combat-capable force of 22,000 uniformed personnel by 2009.
[edit] Combat equipment
Small arms & hand weapons:
ČZ vz. 82
Vz. 58 rifle
Sa vz. 58 standard service assault rifle
M-16 rifle assault rifle
Heckler & Koch G36 used by the 5th Special Forces Regiment
Heckler & Koch HK416 used by the 5th Special Forces Regiment In 2009 Regiment has been rearmed and HK416 and HK417 are standard assault rifles of the regiment.
Heckler & Koch HK417 used by the 5th Special Forces Regiment
FN MINIMI Para machine gun used by the 5th Special Forces Regiment
Škorpion vz. 61
Heckler & Koch MP5 only used by the 5th Special Forces Regiment
Heckler & Koch UMP used by the 5th Special Forces Regiment and Military Police
Uk vz. 59 machine gun
Dragunov sniper rifle (SVD)
Grand Power K100
Accuracy International Arctic Warfare 12.7 AW.50 MK2. sniper rifle
AT-4 Spigot
SA-16 Gimlet
Carl Gustav used by special forces
AGS-17 Automatic grenade launcher
RPG-75 Rocket-propelled grenade
[edit] Ground Forces
- Main Battle Tanks
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T-72 - 69 (30 in service) - only a few are in service
T-72M2 Moderna - only a few trial versions
- APC's
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BVP-1 - 308 (72 in service) - Infantry Fighting Vehicle
BVP-2 - 91 - Infantry Fighting Vehicle
BPsV - 71 - Reconnaissance vehicle
OT-90 - 205 (56 in service) - Armoured personnel carrier
Aligator 4x4 - 42 - Armored light off road vehicle (many versions)
Tatrapan 6x6 - 70+ - Armoured off road vehicle (many versions)
Iveco LMV - 10 - Armoured light off road vehicle
BAE RG-32M - 7 - Armoured light off road vehicle
- Artillery
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D-30 122 mm - 74 (ceremonial howitzer)
RM-70 MODULAR - 26 NATO upgraded
ShKH Zuzana 155 mm NATO - 16
- Other
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AKTIS - military light truck
Božena 4 - lightweight demining equipment
Božena 3 - lightweight demining equipment
Humvee - 5th Special Forces Regiment
BELARTY UOS 155 - demining equipment
SVO self-propelled mine-clearing charges launching system
AM-50 - bridge vehicle
AMB-S armored ambulance
PTS (amphibious vehicle) - amphibious transporter
BRDM-2 - amphibious armoured scout car
Tatra 815 - military trucks (many versions)
VT-55A - recovery vehicle
UAZ-469 - light off road vehicle (to be replaced)
Praga V3S - military truck (to be replaced)
Nissan Navara, Nissan Pathfinder - light off road vehicles
Mercedes-Benz G-Class - light off road vehicle and military fitted ambulance
Volkswagen Transporter (T4) - military fitted ambulance
- Air-defence missiles:
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9K35 Strela-10M (SA-13 GOPHER)
- Note -- All data is current as of 1.1.2012
[edit] Air Force
- Aircraft
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-29 Fulcrum - 21 (12 NATO upgraded)
Aero L-39 Albatros - 8 (NATO upgraded)
Antonov An-26 Curl - 1 (NATO upgraded)
Let L-410 Turbolet - 5 (NATO upgraded)
Mil Mi-17 Hip-H - 10 (NATO upgraded)
Note -- All aircraft data is current as of 1.1.2012
- Air Defence Systems
SA-6 Gainful - 14 (4 batteries)
Almaz SA-10 Grumble - 1 battery
Note -- only 5 SAM brigades projected by 2015 Long Term Model
[edit] Special Forces
[edit] 5th Special Forces Regiment
It is Slovakia's premier Counter-Terrorism and special operations unit. The unit is directly attached to the Armed Forces General Staff, but works for the Operational Reconnaissance Bureau.
[edit] Special Task Force of National Anti-Drug Department
The NADSTF duties include the following of organized crime groups, working in coverage, protecting important witnesses, preparing for actions sooner than the crimes are committed and arresting highly dangerous criminals. The NADSTF Operate under Ministry of interior of the Slovak Republic.
[edit] Missions
Slovakia has 198 military personnel deployed worldwide for United Nations-led peace support operations (PSOs).[4] Slovakia committed to increase the number of its troops in Afghanistan to around 500 men by the end of 2010. Slovak troops are deployed in Southern Afghanistan. Slovakia has markedly increased its commitment to KFOR and SFOR in Bosnia in 2002. Soon Slovak troops will withdraw from Kosovo because the Slovak Armed Forces set its priority to focus mainly on an Afghanistan NATO led mission - only 20 men will stay for intelligence reasons in Kosovo.[5] Since the independence of Slovakia in 1993, there have been 53 uniformed personnel deaths in the line of service to the United Nations (as of 2008).
[edit] Sources
- ^ Defence Expenditures of NATO Countries (1985-2009)
- ^ http://www.novinky.cz/zahranicni/evropa/239481-slovenska-armada-se-zbavi-tanku.html?ref=stalo-se (czech)
- ^ http://www.nato.int/docu/update/2004/03-march/e0329a.htm
- ^ http://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/contributors/2009/dec09_1.pdf
- ^ http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics-article.php?yyyy=2010&mm=01&dd=04&nav_id=64243
[edit] External links
- Official homepage of the Ministry of Defence
- Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic (Slovak)
- Picture gallery
- Slovak military photos
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