Slovakia’s defence minister, Robert Kalinak (Smer), says the recent incursion of Russian drones into Polish airspace has underlined the need to accelerate investment in anti-drone systems. Following a video call with European partners, he told television channel Joj 24 that “it is essential to take measures against such incidents”.
Kalinak is now using the Polish incident to justify acquisitions he had already planned but not previously publicised. Two contracts are in preparation, both from the Czech Republic: passive radar systems known as Pless, and subsonic L-39 Skyfox aircraft. In both cases, the minister intends to proceed without an open tender.
Defence analysts question whether the chosen systems are appropriate. Passive radars, developed in Czechoslovakia to detect stealth bombers, can monitor large aircraft at long range but are not effective against small, low-flying drones such as those used by Russia.
Military commentator Vladimir Bednar noted that while Pless radars could track objects up to 700 kilometres away, “these objects are strategic bombers, not drones like the Shahed”.
The plan to use L-39 jets against drones has also drawn criticism. Although cheaper to operate than modern F-16 fighters, running trainer aircraft with pilots, maintenance crews and 20-millimetre cannons remains significantly more expensive than the drones themselves, which cost around EUR 10,000 each.
The radar manufacturer, ERA Pardubice, is owned by Czech arms dealer Richard Hava’s family. Hava is a long-time figure in the Czech defence industry with reported political connections in Prague, raising concerns about transparency in no-bid contracts.
The aircraft producer, Aero Vodochody, was once part of the Slovak investment group Penta but is now controlled by Hungarian investors close to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Among them is Oszkar Vilagi, chief executive of Slovnaft, Slovakia’s biggest oil refiner. Kalinak has already awarded other large public contracts to Hungarian firms with links to Orban, including a EUR 450m hospital project in Presov.
Other European firms, such as Italy’s Leonardo, also produce comparable aircraft, but Kalinak has not indicated he will consider their offers. (The Slovak Spectator)