Slovak Armed Forces

The Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic were divided from the Czechoslovak Army after dissolution of Czechoslovakia on 1 January 1993. Slovakia joined NATO on 29 March 2004.^[5] From 2006 the army transformed into a fully professional organization and compulsory military service was abolished.^[6][7][8] Slovak armed forces numbered 19,500 uniformed personnel and 4,208 civilians in 2022.^[1]

Slovak Armed Forces organization 2024 (click to enlarge)

Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic
Ozbrojené sily Slovenskej Republiky
The official emblem of the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic
Motto	"Česť a sláva" (Honour and Glory)
Founded	1 January 1993
Service branches	Slovak Ground Forces Slovak Air Force Slovak Special Operations Forces
Headquarters	Bratislava, Slovakia
Website	Official website
Leadership
Commander-in-chief	Peter Pellegrini
Minister of defense	Robert Kaliňák
Chief of the General Staff	General Daniel Zmeko
Personnel
Conscription	Abolished in 2006
Active personnel	19,500[1]
Expenditure
Budget	€2,63 billion ($2.83 billion) (2024)[2]
Percent of GDP	2.0% (2024)[3]
Industry
Foreign suppliers	United States  Czech Republic[4]  Bulgaria  France  Germany  Poland
Related articles
Ranks	Military ranks of Slovakia

Organization

Trenčín

Topoľčany

Martin

Nitra

Levice

Rožňava

Sereď

Prešov

Trebišov

Michalovce

Sliač

Malacky

Hlohovec

Slovak Ground Forces locations 2018:
Brigade HQs Armored units Mechanized units Motorized units Artillery ISTAR
Engineer unit NBC-Defense Combat Service Support Brigade units Air bases

Joint Operational Command

Joint Operational Command in Banská Bystrica^[9] (Commander: 2 Star General)

Ground forces

Main article: Ground Forces of the Slovak Republic

• 1st Mechanized Brigade^[10]
• 2nd Mechanized Brigade^[11]
• 5th Artillery Regiment^[12]
• 91st Engineer Regiment^[13]
• 22nd Reconnaissance Regiment^[14]
• 71st Command Support Battalion^[15]
• 103rd Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Defence Battalion^[16]

Air force

Main article: Slovak Air Force

The Slovak Air Force, officially the Air Force of the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic, has been defending Slovak airspace since independence in 1993. The Slovak Air Force currently comprises one wing of fighters, one wing of utility helicopters, one wing of transport aircraft, and one SAM brigade. It operates around 20 combat aircraft, as well as 10 helicopters from 3 air bases: Malacky/Kuchyňa Air Base, Sliač Air Base, Prešov Air Base. The Air Force is currently part of the NATO Integrated Air and Missiles Defense System – NATINADS.

Special Operations Forces

• 5th Special Forces Regiment^[17][18]
• 51st Training Base in Žilina^[19]
• 52nd Airborne Battalion in Jamník^[20]
• 57th Separate Section in Martin^[21]

82nd Joint Support Brigade ^[22]

• 3rd Command Support Company, in Trenčín
• 4th Logistic Regiment, in Trenčín^[23]
  • 41st Supply Base, in Nemšová^[24]
  • 42nd Supply Base, in Martin, Slovakia^[25]
  • 43rd Supply Base, in Zemianske Kostoľany^[26]
  • 53rd Field Services Battalion, in Hlohovec^[27]
  • 405th Maintenance Battalion, in Martin^[28]
• 6th Signal Regiment, in Trenčín^[29]
  • 61st Signal Battalion, in Trenčín^[30]
  • 62nd Signal Battalion, in Ružomberok^[31]
• 7th Training Regiment, in Martin^[32]
  • 71st Training Battalion ^[33]
  • 72nd Training Support Battalion ^[34]
• Topographic Institute, in Banská Bystrica^[35]
• 701st Military Transport Center, in Bratislava
• Training and Mobilization Replenishment Base, in Martin

Military Medical Command

Military Medical Command in Ružomberok^[36]

• HQ^[37]
• Department of Management and Medical Analysis^[38]
• Department of Planning and Training^[39]
• Department of Logistic^[40]
• Department of Military Healthcare Development^[41]
• Department of Veterinary Support^[42]
• Department of Field Medical Units^[43]
  • Field Mobil Medical Unit ROLE 2E^[43]
  • Field Mobil Medical Unit ROLE 2B^[44]
• Logistic Battalion of Military Medical Command^[45]
  • HQ
  • Material Support Company
  • Technical Support Company

Ranks

Main article: Military ranks of Slovakia

Equipment

List of equipment of the Slovak Army

Uniforms

• 
  Soldiers in standard combat uniform
• 
  Soldiers in standard combat uniform
  (desert variant)
• 
  Uniform of Slovak special force regiment
  (5th Special Operations Regiment)
• 
  Used by soldiers in reserve, originally it was standard uniform of slovak soldiers from 1995 to 2007^[46]
• 
  Used by soldiers in reserve, originally it was standard uniform of slovak soldiers from 1995 to 2007
  (desert variant)
• 
  Uniform of the Honour Guard of the Slovak Armed Forces^[47]
• 
  Uniform of the Honour Guard of the President of the Slovak Republic^[48]
• 
  Honour Guard of the President of the Slovak Republic in the battalion's ceremonial uniform
• 
  Honour Guard of the President of the Slovak Republic in the battalion's ceremonial uniform (based on Slovak Uprising uniforms)^[49]
• 
  Service dress uniform

Missions

As of 2021, Slovakia has 169 military personnel deployed in Cyprus for UNFICYP United Nations led peace support operations^[50][51] and 41 troops deployed in Bosnia and Herzegovina for EUFOR Althea.^[52]

The country has been an active participant in US- and NATO-led military actions and involved in many United Nations peacekeeping military missions: UNPROFOR in the Yugoslavia (1992–1995), UNOMUR in Uganda and Rwanda (1993-1994), UNAMIR in Rwanda (1993-1996), UNTAES in Croatia (1996-1998), UNOMIL in Liberia (1993-1997), MONUA in Angola (1997-1999), SFOR in Bosnia and Herzegovina (1999-2003), OSCE mission in Moldova (1998-2002), OSCE mission in Albania (1999), KFOR in Kosovo (1999-2002), UNGCI in Iraq (2000-2003), UNMEE in Ethiopia and Eritrea (2000-2004), UNMISET in East Timor (2001), EUFOR Concordia in Macedonia (2003), UNAMSIL in Sierra Leone (1999-2005), EU supporting action to African Union in Darfur (2006), Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan (2002-2005), Operation Iraqi Freedom in Iraq (2003-2007) and UNDOF at the borders of Israel and Syria (1998-2008).^[53]

Since the independence of Slovakia in 1993, there have been 60 uniformed personnel deaths in the line of service to the United Nations and NATO (as of 30 April 2018).^[54][55][56]

Gallery

• 
  Armoured vehicle Tatrapan
• 
  Multiple rocket launcher RM-70 MODULAR
• 
  A Let L-410 Turbolet of the Slovak Air Force
• 
  Slovak 5th Special Forces Regiment operating in eastern Afghanistan
• 
  In eastern Afghanistan operation
• 
  A member of the 5th Special Forces Regiment conducts security inside HMMWV
• 
  Soldiers of the 12th Mechanized Battalion
• 
  Slovak and U.S. Soldiers join forces during a live-fire exercise Sept. 16, 2015 near Bratislava in the Slovak Republic
• 
  Slovak soldier stands guard in front of the Multinational Division Central-South headquarters at Camp Echo, Iraq, 2006
• 
  Slovak Bozena vehicle is designed for clearance of all conventional antipersonnel and antitank land mines and for IED removal assistance