Military of Slovakia
Encyclopedia
The Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...

number 14,000 uniformed personnel. Slovakia joined NATO in March 2004. From 2006 the army transformed into a fully professional organization and compulsory military service was abolished.

Structure of the Armed Forces

  • Ground Forces
    Ground Forces of the Slovak Republic
    The following is a summary of the Ground Forces of the Slovak Republic, which are part of the Military of Slovakia.-Ground Forces HQ:In Trenčín...

     - are made up of two active mechanized infantry
    Mechanized infantry
    Mechanized infantry are infantry equipped with armored personnel carriers , or infantry fighting vehicles for transport and combat ....

     brigades.
  • Air
    Slovak Air Force
    The Slovak Air Force, known since 2002 as the Air Force of the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic , is the aviation and air defense branch of the Slovak Armed Forces. Operating 70 aircraft from 3 major bases - Kuchyňa, Sliač, Prešov...

     and Air defense Forces - comprising one wing
    Wing
    A wing is an appendage with a surface that produces lift for flight or propulsion through the atmosphere, or through another gaseous or liquid fluid...

     of fighters
    Fighter aircraft
    A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets...

    , one wing of attack and utility helicopter
    Helicopter
    A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...

    s, 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
    General Staff
    A military staff, often referred to as General Staff, Army Staff, Navy Staff or Air Staff within the individual services, is a group of officers and enlisted personnel that provides a bi-directional flow of information between a commanding officer and subordinate military units...

     - 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
Combat
Combat, or fighting, is a purposeful violent conflict meant to establish dominance over the opposition, or to terminate the opposition forever, or drive the opposition away from a location where it is not wanted or needed....

-capable force of 22,000 uniformed personnel by 2009.

Combat equipment

Small arms & hand weapons: ČZ vz. 82 Vz. 58 rifle Sa vz. 58 standard service assault rifle Heckler & Koch G36
Heckler & Koch G36
The Heckler & Koch G36 is a 5.56×45mm assault rifle, designed in the early 1990s by Heckler & Koch in Germany as a replacement for the 7.62mm G3 battle rifle. It was accepted into service with the Bundeswehr in 1997, replacing the G3...

  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
FN Minimi
The Minimi is a Belgian 5.56mm light machine gun developed by Fabrique Nationale in Herstal by Ernest Vervier. First introduced in 1974, it has entered service with the armed forces of over thirty countries...

 machine gun used by the 5th Special Forces Regiment Škorpion vz. 61 Heckler & Koch MP5
Heckler & Koch MP5
The Heckler & Koch MP5 is a 9mm submachine gun of German design, developed in the 1960s by a team of engineers from the German small arms manufacturer Heckler & Koch GmbH of Oberndorf am Neckar....

 only used by the 5th Special Forces Regiment Heckler & Koch UMP
Heckler & Koch UMP
The UMP is a submachine gun developed and manufactured by Heckler & Koch. The UMP has been adopted by various agencies such as the U.S. Customs and Border Protection...

 used by the 5th Special Forces Regiment and Military Police Uk vz. 59
Uk vz. 59
The Universal Machine Gun Model 1959 is a machine gun developed in Czechoslovakia in the 1950s. This weapon is still used by the Czech Army and the Slovak Armed Forces....

 machine gun Dragunov sniper rifle (SVD) Grand Power K100 Accuracy International Arctic Warfare 12.7 AW.50 MK2.
Accuracy International Arctic Warfare
The Accuracy International Arctic Warfare rifle is a family of bolt-action sniper rifles designed and manufactured by the British company Accuracy International...

 sniper rifle AT-4 Spigot SA-16 Gimlet Carl Gustav
Carl Gustav recoilless rifle
The Carl Gustav is the common name for the 84 mm man-portable reusable multi-role recoilless rifle produced by Saab Bofors Dynamics in Sweden...

  used by special forces

Ground Forces

  • Main Battle Tanks

} T-72
T-72
The T-72 is a Soviet-designed main battle tank that entered production in 1970. It is developed directly from Obyekt-172, and shares parallel features with the T-64A...

 - 245 (in storage) The tanks are out from service
} T-72M2 Moderna - only a few trial versions
  • APC's

} BVP-1
BMP-1
The BMP-1 is a Soviet amphibious tracked infantry fighting vehicle. BMP stands for Boyevaya Mashina Pekhoty 1 , meaning "infantry fighting vehicle". The BMP-1 was the world's first mass-produced infantry fighting vehicle...

 - 308 (72 in service)
} BVP-2 - 91
} BPsV - 71
} OT-90 - 205 (56 in service)
} Aligator 4x4 - 42
} Tatrapan 6x6
Tatrapan
The TATRAPAN Vehicle is an 6x6 special military vehicle produced by the Slovak defence industry company VYVOJ Martin a.s. Developed for various utilization by Slovak armed forces as well as export purposes.- Design :...

- 70+
} Iveco LMV
Iveco LMV
Iveco LMV is a 4WD tactical vehicle developed by Iveco, and in service with several countries.After its adoption by the Italian Army under the name VTLM Lince , it won the “FCLV” competition of the British Army as the Panther and has been adopted by the armies of Belgium, Croatia, Norway, Russia...

 - 10
} BAE RG-32M - 7

  • Artillery
    • 120 mm mortar - 37

} D-30 122 mm - 74 (in reserve)
} 2S1 Gvozdika - 49 (in reserve)
}RM-70
RM-70
The RM-70 multiple rocket launcher is a Czechoslovak army version and the heavier variant of the BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launcher, providing enhanced performance over its parent artillery system that was introduced in 1971 .- Overview :RM-70 was developed in Czechoslovakia as a successor for...

 - 87 (26 are currently in service and upgraded to   NATO MODULAR, rest in storage)
} DANA
Dana
-Singers:Some singers are popularly known only by the name, Dana:* Dana Rosemary Scallon , Irish-American singer and politician* Dana , Korean pop singer* Dana International , Israeli pop singer-In fiction:...

 152 mm - 135
} ShKH Zuzana
ShKH Zuzana
ZUZANA - 155 mm Self-propelled Gun Howitzer is a modern Slovak artillery system with a 45-caliber gun and automatic loader for loading of both, a projectile and charge...

 155 mm NATO - 16
} PLdvK vz. 53/59
M53/59 Praga
The M53/59 Praga is a Czechoslovak self-propelled anti-aircraft gun developed in the late 1950s. It consists of a heavily modified Praga V3S 6 wheel drive truck chassis, armed with a twin 30 mm AA autocannon mounted on the rear for which the vehicle typically carries 900 rounds of ammunition, each...

 - 206
  • Air-defence missiles:

} 9K35 Strela-10M (SA-13 GOPHER)

Note -- Some is in reserve but all listed equipment is operable until 2010 and beyond http://www.mosr.sk/index.php?page=13

Air Force

  • Aircraft

} Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-29 Fulcrum - 21 (12 NATO upgraded)
} Aero L-39 Albatros
Aero L-39
The Aero L-39 Albatros is a high-performance jet trainer aircraft developed in Czechoslovakia to meet requirements for a "C-39" during the 1960s to replace the L-29 Delfín...

 - 13 (NATO upgraded)
} Antonov An-26 Curl
Antonov An-26
The Antonov An-26 is a twin-engined turboprop military transport aircraft, designed and produced in the USSR from 12 March 1968.-Development:...

 - 2 (NATO upgraded)
} Let L-410 Turbolet - 7 (NATO upgraded)
}Mil Mi-24 Hind
Mil Mi-24
The Mil Mi-24 is a large helicopter gunship and attack helicopter and low-capacity troop transport with room for 8 passengers. It is produced by Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant and operated since 1972 by the Soviet Air Force, its successors, and by over thirty other nations.In NATO circles the export...

 - 12
} Mil Mi-17 Hip-H
Mil Mi-17
The Mil Mi-17 is a Russian helicopter currently in production at two factories in Kazan and Ulan-Ude...

 - 12 (NATO upgraded)
} Mil Mi-2 Hoplite
Mil Mi-2
The Mil Mi-2 is a small, lightly armored transport helicopter that could also provide close air support when armed with 57 mm rockets and a 23 mm cannon.-Design and development:...

 - 6 (for pilots training - currently in process of being replaced by Hughes 269)

Note -- All aircraft data is current as of 1/08
  • 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

Special Forces

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.

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.

Missions

Slovakia has 198 military personnel deployed worldwide for United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

-led peace support operation
Peacekeeping
Peacekeeping is an activity that aims to create the conditions for lasting peace. It is distinguished from both peacebuilding and peacemaking....

s (PSOs). Slovakia committed to increase the number of its troops in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...

 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
SFOR
The Stabilisation Force was a NATO-led multinational peacekeeping force in Bosnia and Herzegovina which was tasked with upholding the Dayton Agreement. It replaced the previous force IFOR...

 in Bosnia
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...

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. 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).

External links

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