Defense
The defense, which is based on general military duty in
2004 with an initial service of six months, comprises 22,000
men and is organized into two brigades, 70 fighter aircraft
and 19 attack helicopters. The reserves amount to 22,000 men
and form a national guard. The material is semi-modern and
of Soviet and own origin. The armor industry in Slovakia was
one of the largest in the Warsaw Pact.
Slovakia applied for membership in NATO in 1997 and
became a member in 2004. A mountain hunters' association is
earmarked for NATO purposes as a special association.
Defense costs have fallen from 4.7% of GDP in 1985 in the
then Czechoslovakia to 2.0% in 2001. Slovakia participates
in a number of UN peacekeeping efforts, including with about
100 men in Serbia and Montenegro (KFOR) and in addition with
40 men in Afghanistan and 75 men in Iraq. To see related acronyms about this country, please check ABBREVIATIONFINDER where you can see that SVK stands for Slovakia.
Slovakia's defense overview
Slovakia joined NATO from 2004. The country has military
service with 6 months of initial service. Slovakia has a
total workforce of 15,850 active personnel (2018, IISS). The
country has no navy.
The army's personnel force is 6250 active personnel. For
heavier materials army has 30 tanks of type T-72, 249
armored vehicles, and 101 armored personnel carriers.
The Air Force has a workforce of 3950 active personnel.
Of material has air force twelve fighters of a MiG-29, ten
transport aircraft, 12 training aircraft and 22 helicopters.
International operations
Slovakia participated in the NATO operation in
Afghanistan (Operation Resolute Support) in 2018
with 36 personnel, and had 150 personnel deployed in Latvia
(Enhanced Forward Presence).
Slovakia also participated in the UN operation in Cyprus
(UNFICYP) with 242 personnel, and in the EU operation in
Bosnia and Herzegovina (EUFOR) with 41 personnel. |
