In fulfilling its obligations to NATO, Slovakia should not forget the tank plan either
Slovakia’s membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) also entails certain obligations. These include, for example, the creation of a heavy mechanized brigade or the creation of training, which will be NATO’s Rapid Preparedness Initiative.
In order to meet these obligations, the management of the Ministry of Defense of the Slovak Republic decided to purchase new tracked combat vehicles and 8×8 armored combat vehicles. Of course, Slovakia needs this new armored vehicles, but we must not forget that the 2nd Mechanized Brigade also includes a tank battalion, made up of obsolete T-72 tanks that need replacement.
The Slovak public is currently following the efforts of the Slovak Ministry of Defense to fundamentally renew the equipment of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic, which is significantly beyond the edge of its life. This applies in particular to tracked combat vehicles BVP-1 and BVP-2, because the Slovak army does not have 8×8 armored combat vehicles. As Slovakia wants to be perceived in the eyes of its allies in the North Atlantic Alliance as a responsible partner that fulfills its obligations, the Ministry of Defense has decided to purchase modern ground technology on tracked and wheeled chassis for more than two billion euros. This is certainly a crucial and necessary step for compatibility with other NATO members, but we must not forget the fact that heavy mechanized brigades also include tanks.
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Slovakia, like many other countries, has a tank battalion in the ground forces system. This is the 14th Tank Battalion in Trebišov, which is part of the 2nd Mechanized Brigade. The Trebišov Battalion is equipped with 24 obsolete T-72M1 tanks, which, according to the Revision of Defense Expenditures from the Value for Money Unit (ÚHP), are over life. However, there are no intense discussions about their replacement, such as the purchase of new tracked or wheeled vehicles. Present is a key weapon system for ground units.
Many documents of the Ministry of Defense, as well as analyzes of the Value for Money Department, consider the replacement of T-72 tanks as a priority in building a heavy mechanized brigade in addition to the acquisition of new tracked combat vehicles. The comprehensive defense assessment for 2020 states that the Slovak Armed Forces lack several types of combat equipment, including tanks. T-72 tank replacement plans are also planned in the Ministry of Defense’s planning documents. This mentions in its material on determining investment priorities that the replacement of T-72 tanks are the new main battle tanks, which were to launch in 2023. At the same time, it should be noted that by the time this main battle tank Slovakia will have, the goal is to maintain T -72 tanks combat-ready.
In addition to the Ministry of Defense, ÚHP also deals with the issue of tanks. In its final report on the Review of Defense Expenditures, the new tanks are mentioned both in connection with the priorities based on the Long-Term Plan 2030, as well as with the plans of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic. According to the General Staff, it is necessary to provide 49 tanks in four versions, of which 32 tanks should be in the version of the main battle tank set aside for the tank battalion. The same material from ÚHP also claims that the Long-Term Plan 2030 wants to address the issue of new tanks in the second half of this decade, which is not in line with predefined priorities. In addition, ÚHP suggests that the Ministry of Defense also consider purchasing older types of tanks upgraded to the latest standards in order to achieve their overall cost.
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From the point of view of possible candidates for a new tank for the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic, only one appears to be logical, and that is the Leopard 2 tank produced by KMW. Despite the fact that we can also find Challenger 2 or Leclerc tanks in the armament of European states, Leopard 2 is currently the only tank whose production is still in progress. It is also worth mentioning the fact that almost all neighboring states have these German-made tanks in their arsenal. In addition to Germany, Leopard tanks in version 2A4 have Austria, 2A4 and 2A5 Poland (it is currently upgrading tanks version 2A4 to version 2PL). In addition to the 2A4 training version, Hungary will receive the latest 2A7 + tank version in the coming years. Outside the neighboring countries, the Leopard 2 tank is introduced in the armament of many other, mostly European countries, but also in the countries of Central and East Asia and North and South America. The South Korean K2 Black Panther tank is also mentioned as a possible candidate, but it currently has no other user than its home country. In addition, when choosing a K2 tank, it would be necessary to require the issue of transferring the necessary technology and logistics from South Korea, which would make the whole purchase significantly more expensive. This is one of the reasons why the Leopard 2 tank is suitable, and Slovakia can proceed, for example, like Hungary, which has ordered tanks from KMW in the latest version 2A7 +. If Slovakia wants to fulfill its commitment to NATO, the purchase of new tanks will be in the near future.