The Slovak Ministry of Defence has announced that it will enter negotiations with the Polish government to purchase 36 very short-range air defence systems (MANPADS), known as Piorun. These systems are manufactured by Mesko, a subsidiary of Polish state-owned defence group Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa (PGZ). According to Poland’s offer, the cost of this procurement is set at EUR 65,9 million.
Moreover, Slovakia intends to procure a single battery of the mobile medium-range air defence system, Barak MX, manufactured by the Israeli state-owned defence company, Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI). The battery will comprise three launchers with eight missiles each. In the tender, IAI’s proposal outperformed those submitted by Rafael (Spyder 4 system), Diehl Defence (IRIS-T SLM), and MBDA (MICA VL).
The most costly offer came from Germany, which included the delivery of four IRIS-T SLM system launchers with eight missiles each for EUR 200.3 million. In contrast, the cost of acquiring the Barak MX battery will amount to EUR 128.1 million.
The Slovak Ministry of Defence has further stated that deliveries of both air defence systems are scheduled for the years 2024 to 2027. Both contracts will be formalized through intergovernmental agreements.
According to Bratislava, the proposals submitted by Poland and Israel meet all the requirements of the Slovak Armed Forces.
