Defence Minister Peter Gajdoš (source: TASR)
The Defence Ministry has halted the international tender for the purchase of 3D radars. The department announced the tender under former minister, Martin Glváč of Smer. In response, the ex-minister said, as quoted by the Sme daily, that he does not understand why the ministry would cancel it.
The ministry claims they dislike the fact that in more than two years, not even the first round of the tender has been completed, and thus, the tender failed to achieve a result.
Ministry seeks to terminate the tender
The Defence Ministry is considering how to end the competition, according to a report by the public-service TV broadcaster RTVS on February 2, thereby allowing the competent authorities to develop a new plan for the procurement.
“Given that until January 31, 2018, the international competition had lasted for more than two years and not even the first round had been completed, we are currently working on the necessary measures to put an end to it and in a short time, we will report on a new way to procure the radars that is as effective and transparent as possible,” the ministry stated for RTVS.
This international competition was launched in 2015, with four candidates in the first round. The estimated contract value was €60 million excluding VAT, the TASR newswire wrote.
Ex-minister slams the decision
Former defence minister Ľubomír Galko (former coalition, now opposition Freedom and Solidarity/SaS party) will demand an explanation from Defence Minister Peter Gajdoš (Slovak National Party/SNS) at the next session of the parliamentary defence and security committee as to why the international tender for the procurement of radars was scrapped, TASR wrote on the same day.
Galko also added, as quoted by the newswire, that the decision to cancel the tender launched by the previous administration headed by Glváč flew in the face of Slovakia’s security interests. According to him, the current leadership at the ministry is only managing to prolong the Slovak Armed Forces’ dependency on Russian equipment.
The Slovak army is currently using obsolete military radars produced in the former Soviet Union, the lifetime of which has already reached its end. At the same time, the manufacturer can no longer supply replacement parts or provide upgrades due to ongoing sanctions against Russia, the SITA newswire wrote.
