Slovakia still isn't ready to host NATO battle groups permanently

But the country will need a long-term NATO presence, a security expert claims.

Retired general and security expert Pavel Macko. (Source: Sme)

With Russia’s continuing appetite for aggression, Slovakia is being forced to confront the urgent need to modernise its small army.

In 2017, the country started replacing its old Russian helicopters with nine US-manufactured Black Hawk helicopters, and a year later ordered fourteen F-16 fighters. The first jets were supposed to arrive this year, but delivery has been delayed until 2024. In the meantime, the Defence Ministry is preparing to sign a contract with Finland for the purchase of 76 wheeled armoured vehicles, and the government will soon approve another agreement, for the purchase of 152 tracked combat vehicles from Sweden.

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