On December 19, 2022, the Slovak Ministry of Defense received the first German-made Leopard 2A4 Main Battle Tank (MBT) from Germany during an official ceremony that was attended by the Slovak Minister of Defense of the Slovak Republic Jaroslav Naď and the Minister of Defense of the Federal Republic of Germany Christine Lambrecht.
On November 29, 2022, the Slovak Minister of Defense announced that Germany will deliver 15 Leopard 2A4 Main Battle Tanks (MBTs) to the Slovak Army in exchange for 15 BVP-1, Soviet-made BMP-1, tracked armored Infantry Fighting Vehicles (IFVs) donated to Ukraine.
In November 2002, Slovakia was formally invited to join the NATO alliance. Previously, the Slovak armed forces were equipped with old Soviet-made military equipment and combat vehicles, and in order to comply with NATO standards, Slovakia has launched a vast program of modernization of its army.