BRATISLAVA: Slovakia's government approved plans on Wednesday to build armoured vehicles with the Finnish defence company Patria, which will replace its military's outdated personnel carriers, the Slovakian defence minister said.
State-owned defence company Konstrukta Defence will work with Patria, owned by the Finnish government, and Norwegian firm Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace, to build 81 eight-wheeled armored personal carriers, Defence Minister Peter Gajdos told reporters. The Slovak army will buy the vehicles, the value of which is estimated at 417 million euros ($493.10 million).
The deal is part of the biggest defence modernisation project in the country's history, approved in May. Worth a total of 1.2 billion euros, it also includes plans to pick a partner to build 404 four-wheeled armoured vehicles.
Slovakia, a NATO member since 2004, is stepping up defence spending and its military presence in NATO missions after calls by US President Donald Trump on allies to recommit themselves to the alliance.
The government has pledged to increase defence spending from 1.16 percent of GDP this year to 1.6 percent by 2020 and meet the NATO target of 2 percent by 2024.
The new armored vehicles, based on Patria's chassis, will by 2024 replace outdated models made in the former Czechoslovakia and inherited by Slovakia when it split from the Czech Republic in 1993.
Slovakia has also been in talks with several companies, including Lockheed Martin and Saab about replacing its ageing Russian-made MiG-29s fighter jets. Plans to buy new fighters were postponed in September, a move that could prolong its dependence on Russia.
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