Slovak Armed Forces

Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic Ozbrojené sily Slovenskej Republiky
The coat of arms
Founded	1 January 1993
Service branches	Ground Forces of the Slovak Republic Slovak Air Force
Headquarters	Bratislava,  Slovakia
Leadership
President of the Republic	Andrej Kiska
Minister of Defense	Peter Gajdoš
Chief of the General Staff	General Milan Maxim
Manpower
Military age	18 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	ca. 20,000
Active personnel	17,000 soldiers and 4,800 civilians (2016)[1][2][3]
Expenditures
Budget	998 million € (2017)[4][5][6][7][8][9]
Percent of GDP	1.20 % (2017)
Industry
Foreign suppliers	Czech Republic  Germany  Israel  Italy  United States

The Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic number 15,996 uniformed personnel and 3,761 civilians.^[10][11] Slovakia joined NATO on 29 March 2004.^[12] From 2006 the army transformed into a fully professional organization and compulsory military service was abolished.^[13][14][15]

Structure of the armed forces

• Ground forces - are made up of two active mechanized infantry brigades and a Combat Support Brigade.
• Air and air defence forces - comprising one wing of fighters, one wing of utility helicopters, and one SAM brigade.
• Miscellaneous forces under the direct command of the general staff, including the 5th Special Forces Regiment

Structure of the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic 2016 (click to enlarge)

Air force

Slovak Air Force MiG-29AS

• Aircraft
  • Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-29 Fulcrum - ten (NATO upgraded)
  • Aero L-39 Albatros - eight (NATO upgraded)
  • Let L-410 Turbolet - seven (NATO upgraded)
  • Mil Mi-17 Hip-H - nine (NATO upgraded), to be replaced by UH-60M Black Hawks
  • UH-60M Black Hawk - nine on order (deliveries 2017-2019) + other 9 option
  • Alenia C-27J Spartan- two on order (deliveries 2017-2018) + other 1 option

Note -- All aircraft data is current as of 08.10.2016

• Air defence systems
  • SA-6 Gainful - five batteries
  • SA-10 Grumble - one battery
  • SA-18 Grouse

Special forces

Slovak 5th Special Forces Regiment operating in eastern Afghanistan

The 5th Special Forces Regiment is Slovakia's counter-terrorism and special operations unit. The unit is directly attached to the armed forces general staff, but works for the Operational Reconnaissance Bureau.

Missions

Slovakia has 169 military personnel deployed in Cyprus for UNFICYP United Nations led peace support operations.^[16] Slovakia committed to increase the number of its troops in Afghanistan to around 40 men by the end of 2016.^[17] Slovakia has 41 troops deployed in Bosnia and Herzegovina for EUFOR Althea.^[18] Slovak troops were withdrawn from Kosovo because the Slovak Armed Forces set its priority to focus mainly on an Afghanistan NATO led mission.^[19][20] Since the independence of Slovakia in 1993, there have been 59 uniformed personnel deaths in the line of service to the United Nations and NATO (as of 2015).^{[21] [22][23]}

References

1. http://www.hlavnespravy.sk/v-armade-ma-posobit-viac-vojakov-aj-civilnych-zamestnancov/830815
2. "Defence Data". Retrieved 24 December 2014.
3. http://www.eda.europa.eu/docs/default-source/finance-documents/national-defence-data-2012.pdf
4. https://www.mosr.sk/rozpocet-rozpoctovej-kapitoly-ministerstva-obrany-sr-na-rok-2015/
5. "NATO Defence Expenditure: 2009 - 2013" 14 August 2014
6. "Slovak Military Budget 2014"
7. "Slovak Military Budget 2013"
8. "Rezort obrany vyčerpal vlani z rozpočtu 725,6 milióna eur". Topky.sk. Retrieved 24 December 2014.
9. P E R E X , a. s. "Rozpočet armády sa zvyšovať nebude, tvrdí Fico". Pravda.sk. Retrieved 24 December 2014.
10. Azet.sk. "Slovenská armáda v číslach: 475 vojakov nebolo na testoch fyzickej spôsobilosti!". Retrieved 24 December 2014.
11. Azet.sk. "Vojakov je menej. Za desať rokov klesol ich počet o 8000". Retrieved 24 December 2014.
12. "NATO Update: Seven new members join NATO - 29 March 2004". Retrieved 24 December 2014.
13. "Biela kniha o obrane SR 2013"
14. http://www.nato.int/nato_static/assets/pdf/pdf_topics/20140224_140224-PR2014-028-Defence-exp.pdf
15. SME - Petit Press, a.s. "Slovensk armda je v kritickom stave, me to ma fatlne nsledky". Retrieved 24 December 2014.
16. "United Nations Mission´s Summary detailed by Country 2014" 30 June 2014
17. "Pôsobenie Slovenska v zahraničných misiách a operáciách"
18. Jasmin. "EUFOR "Exercise Quick Response 2" begins". EUFOR ALTHEA. Retrieved 24 December 2014.
19. "B92 - Info - Slovakia pulling soldiers from Kosovo". B92. Retrieved 24 December 2014.
20. "Účasť Slovenska v mierových operáciách NATO - Slovensko v NATO - Zahraničná politika - Ministerstvo zahraničných vecí a európskych záležitostí Slovenskej republiky". Retrieved 24 December 2014.
21. "Two Slovakian Soldiers Killed in Kabul Suicide Car Bomb". Defense News. Retrieved 24 December 2014.
22. "20 Years of U.S. - Slovak Diplomatic Relations". Retrieved 24 December 2014.
23. http://www.defense.gov/Releases/Release.aspx?ReleaseID=17100

External links

• Official homepage of the Ministry of Defence
• Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic (Slovak)
• Picture gallery
• Slovak military photos