Slovakia has issued request for proposals for modern medium-range and man-portable short-range missiles to 11 countries, and responses are due by late July. The initial phase intends to replace its Russian-made SA-6 Gainful ( 2K12 Kub 2M) now in service.
After gathering all of the Slovak Armed Forces’ ground-based air defence (GBAD) requirements just a few weeks ago, Slovakia has launched the process of finding the best solution to its own air defences. Due to the complexity of the project, it will be a long-term and gradual process in which specific air and missile defence systems will be acquired in four stages. The Slovak Defence Ministry is now in Phase 1 of the Air Defence Capability programme – work is ongoing to get the programme ready for formal approval from the Slovak government in the shortest possible time frame.
Under Stage 1, a mobile medium-range surface-to-air missile (MRSAM-M) system and 12 man-portable air defence (MANPAD) systems are to be procured along with associated logistics support, trucks and other components, worth up to €200m. Fully aligned to the Ministry of Defence’s Long-Term Development Plan with Outlook to 2035, the delivery of the Air Defence Capability programme will be funded from the planned Defence budget.
To this end, the Slovak Defence Ministry has already approached 11 countries that have the manufacturing potential for the air and missile defence systems. Offers in response to Slovakia’s MRSAM-M and MANPAD Request for Government Proposal (RfGP) must be submitted by the end of July 2023. Subsequently, a team of MOD subject matter experts will evaluate them against predetermined evaluation criteria. The final bidders’ ranking will be established accordingly.