SVK service members’ engagement in Resolute Support is viewed positively
(3 July) The State Secretary of the SVK MOD, Miloš Koterec, attended a homecoming ceremony for the first rotational contingent of 38 troops, returning from the Resolute Support mission, on the parade grounds of the 5th Special Forces Regiment. Under the new mission, the SVK troops performed their duties at an exceptionally high standard. Unlike ISAF, this is a non-combat mission, yet still Afghanistan is at high risk of terrorist attacks. While there, the SVK troops carried out tasks even under such highly dangerous conditions. “This time, too, the feedback on our work in Afghanistan was only positive. I would often hear complimentary remarks on the work of SVK soldiers from the mission’s highest command, NATO’s top representatives, as well as common folks. Let me join the compliments,” said the SVK MOD State Secretary, before awarding the homecoming troops with the Slovak Minister of Defence Medals for Service in Resolute Support Mission.
Collaborative projects with Poland
(3 July) Slovakia and Poland are on course to cooperate in two collaborative armaments projects. This follows from the Letter of Intent on Cooperation signed by Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico and Polish Prime Minister Ewa Kopaczowá in a meeting attended by both defence ministers. The cooperation will be centred on manufacturing the Rosomak – Scipio 8x8 Multi-Role Armoured Vehicle (MRAV). The other project involves conducting the general overhauls (GOs) of the DANA self-propelled howitzers that have been in service with the Polish Armed Forces. The Slovak Republic is planning to gradually equip two battalions with the Scipio wheeled armoured vehicles. Under Phase 1 a total of 31 vehicles are expected to be supplied, allowing the OT armoured personnel carriers (APCs) nearing the end of their life cycle to be phased out and replaced. The major benefit of this transaction consists therein that the project may be initially funded from the recourses of the Polish government, allowing the instalments for the MRAVs to be made gradually in several successive years. The first tranche of the MRAVs could be made available to the SVK military still this year. The Scipio-mounted turret, dubbed Turra 30 remote controlled weapons station, will be manufactured by DMD Group and EVPÚ Nová Dubnica. SVK Minister of Defence Martin Glváč stressed that, from the SVK Land Forces’ perspective, this will be the most extensive modernization programme in our history, whereas it is feasible to secure the funding required for the project from the MOD budget. According to Chief of the General Staff of the SVK Armed Forces Lt Gen Milan Maxim, the Rosomak vehicles have been well tested under the challenging conditions in Afghanistan and are fully compatible with NATO standards. “Moreover, we’ll be able to acquire the defence capabilities of this type right away, which is the greatest benefit in view of the outdated APCs currently in use,” he said. Similarly, the other project – general overhauls and post-warranty maintenance and support services for the Polish-operated DANA 152mm self-propelled gun howitzers – is set to boost the SVK defence industry. According to a joint declaration, the GOs and support services should be provided by the ZŤS Špeciál company operating under DMD Group. The company is licensed to manufacture and supply spare components for the howitzer system and is capable of providing support services with required repairing capacities.
● On 1 July, the new Air Force Support Division at the SVK General Staff was established, which will perform the tasks related to the implementation of the re-armament projects and to the coordination of activities between the respective SVK MoD agencies and other departments, staffs and divisions of the SVK General Staff with respect to the employment of the Air Force and Air Defence to perform the tasks of both the domestic and international crisis management. At the same time, the newly established division will also serve as an advisory body to the Chief of the General Staff in the field of highly specialized Air Force and Air Defence activities. It will represent the General Staff in the projects of international cooperation in the field of aviation and will coordinate and provide methodological advice and guidance as to the preparation of Air Force and Air Defence specialists in the framework of the emerging project of military education. The division is made up of the Planning Section and Support Section. The Head of the newly established division will be Col Adolf Uličný.
Medal for D. Koštoval
(30 June) Daniel Koštoval, Deputy Minister and Head of the Armaments and Acquisition Division at the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic, was received in audience on Tuesday by Secretary of the SVK MoD Miloš Koterec, who presented him with a commemorative medal of the Minister of Defence of the Slovak Republic, 1st Grade, for his significant contribution to development of Slovak – Czech defence cooperation. By June 2015, he was the Deputy Minister - Head of the Defence Policy and Strategy Division at the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic and Co-Chair of the Joint Steering Committee for cooperation between Slovakia and the Czech Republic in the field of defence.
● Members of Nitra-based anti-aircraft missile brigade are being deployed to the Training area of the Military District Lešť since 22 June to 10 July. For the members of the anti-aircraft missile group S-300PMU in particular, training and tactical exercise is the final stage of their preparation for Joint Air Defence Firings to be held in August at Shabla Range, Bulgaria. The exercise is aimed at the overall co-ordination of the activities within the group. ● On 30 June, on the premises of the General Staff, the representatives of the Military Renaissance Society were received in audience by Chief of the SVK General Staff on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Society and its cooperation with the armed forces. Col (Ret) Svätopluk Kusala handed over the commemorative medal of the Society to Lt Gen Milan Maxim, as a token of longstanding effective cooperation. Lt Gen Milan Maxim, in return, presented Col Kusala with a memorial plaquette of Chief of the General Staff. ● On 24 – 30 June, the Polish fighter pilots underwent training on MiG-29 flight simulator KTS21/LTV29 in the Simulation Centre at the Combined Wing of Maj Gen Otto Smik in Sliač. Nearly fifty members of the Polish Air Force practiced flying under instrument flight rules (IFR) under adverse weather conditions, and they rehearsed a course of action to take in an in-flight emergency. In addition to the facilities of the Simulation Centre, the Slovak party provided also instructors and material and technical equipment. ● First Deputy Chief of the SVK General Staff Lt Gen Peter Gajdoš met with the outgoing Defence Attaché of Ukraine to Slovakia Col Eduard Slapuk. On the occasion of the end of his term in this diplomatic position, he expressed his acknowledgement to him for his cooperation and wished him every professional success in the future. ● Under direct control of the top officials of the respective staffs and under the auspices of the Combat Preparation Division, the members of the SVK General Staff have undergone the next stage of recurrent/refresher training in a garrison firing range in the Military Training Area Turecký vrch. It was aimed at enhancing the skills of the members of the General Staff in the field of combined arms preparation, with the focus on tactical, chemical, radiological, signal, medical and engineering preparation.
Equipment is a top priority
(3 July) Having launched the modernization process, the next one of the priorities of the leadership of Defence Department is provision of equipment and its parts for the troops. To this end, the competitive tender in excess of threshold values will be lodged in the upcoming days. The ambition of the Department is to make the whole process as transparent and efficient as possible and to create space for as many potential contractors as possible. The outcome of the tender will be the frame contracts concluded for a period of 4 years. The number of procured equipment parts will depend on the current need and financial capacities of the Department. Subject-matter and scope of the individual orders were defined by the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic. As for the tenders in excess of threshold values, the Ministry of Defence will conduct electronic auctions. The Ministry intends to procure different types of gloves for uniforms, to include the special gloves or combat gloves, as well as thermal underwear.
Preparations for Presidency
(5 July) Department of Defence is taking active preparations for the Slovak Presidency of the EU Council. During six months it will preside over the Athena Special Committee for financing security and defence military operations of the European Union. Currently, five actively ongoing military operations are being supported from funds of this mechanism. The SVK AF serve in one of them – EUFOR ALTHEA in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Athena mechanism was established by Council of the European Union on 1 March 2004 and 27 EU countries contribute to the financing of military operations. In preparations for the first Slovak Presidency, the Department of Defence closely cooperates primarily with SVK Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, which, by virtue of the SVK Government resolution, has become a central coordinating body.
M. Glváč: The results of our V4 presidency are joint training, regular exercises and cross-border operations
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(30 June) The Slovak Republic’s one-year presidency of the Visegrad Group yielded concrete results in the field of defence, namely joint training, regular exercises within NATO, and the beginning of cross-border operations between Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Despite the fact that the intention to hold joint training exercises had been under consideration in the long term, it was not until Slovakia’s V4 presidency that the initiative assumed a concrete shape. Accordingly, the V4 countries agreed on a schedule for joint exercises, which will be organized once a year by a different country on a rotational principle. Moreover, it was decided that the V4 armed forces would participate in an extensive high visibility NATO exercise.
Additionally, real progress was achieved in the field of airspace protection. Thanks to the initiative of the Slovak Republic, cross-border operations between Slovakia and the Czech Republic were launched, only to be gradually extended to all Visegrad Four countries. “The aim of the joint exercises is to enhance the operational capabilities of the V4 countries as a whole, while at the same time reinforcing the interoperability of our Armed Forces with partner militaries, so that our mutual cooperation can be smoother, faster and cheaper,” noted SVK Minister of Defence Martin Glváč. The V4 Training and Exercise Strategy addresses the reciprocal participation in education activities and courses for experts in specific
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subject-matter areas. It also contains the ambition to create a joint V4 modular unit, which would be ready to deploy as a joint force contribution to the NATO Response Force or the EU, or as part of international crisis management operations. Yet another strategic document, adopted during the SVK presidency, is the V4 Defence Cooperation Action Plan, which charts the direction of the V4 defence cooperation for the future. Moreover, the preparation of the V4 EU BG was completed under the SVK presidency, with the joint EU Battlegroup scheduled to be on stand-by in the first half of 2016. The Technical Agreement on the V4 EU BG was signed by the V4 Chiefs of the General Staff during their talks
in June. “The training at the national level has been concluded with Exercise Slovak Challenge 2015, and what is now awaiting our soldiers is just a certification exercise in November in Poland,” said the head of the Slovak Minister of Defence. With the intent of extending defence cooperation to include other levels of representatives of the V4 MODs, apart from the traditional formats, the V4 Group for Defence Planning convened for the first time, and so did the State Secretaries in the format of political leaders known as the Senior Body. 5 areas of potential cooperation were approved, with the V4 to focus on implementing them in the upcoming period during the Czech Republic’s V4 presidency.
June 29 - July 5, 2015