Cabinet Approves Proposal on Acquiring Military Armoured Vehicles

Bratislava, November 15 (TASR) – The Government at its session on Wednesday approved a Defence Ministry-sponsored proposal for providing 8×8 and 4×4 military armoured vehicles for the Slovak army, TASR learnt on the same day.

The document is confidential and details are expected to be revealed by Defence Minister Peter Gajdos (a Slovak National Party/SNS nominee) at a press conference later this day.

Based on the stance of the Value for Money Unit, which falls under the Finance Ministry, the Defence Ministry wants to first develop prototypes of 8×8 and 4×4 military armoured vehicles for €9 million in total. After that, Slovakia should obtain 81 pieces of 8×8 armoured vehicles and 404 pieces of 4×4 armoured vehicles for €1.2 billion in total.

Regarding the 8×8 military vehicles, they should be developed in Slovakia based on the Finnish armoured vehicle Patria. No partner has yet been selected for the 4×4 military vehicles.
“The proposed way of acquiring [the armoured vehicles] is based on the objective to fully engage the Slovak defence industry in terms of research, development and the production of military vehicles,” reads the stance of the Value for Money Unit.

According to the Finance Ministry, this solution will be cheaper and faster than purchasing existing vehicles and at the same time it will meet high technical standards.

The armoured vehicles should be manufactured gradually between 2018-2029. The final decision on which companies will provide the Slovak army with the development and manufacture of the military vehicles will be made only after the project’s feasibility study and the prototype testing are carried out.