Military of the Czech Republic

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Military of the Czech Republic
Armáda České Republiky

The coat of arms and roundel
Military age 18 years of age
Available for
military service
2,414,728, age 15–49 (2005 est.)
Fit for
military service
1,996,631, age 15–49  (2005 est.)
Reaching military
age annually
66,583 (2005 est.)
Active personnel 57,050
Expenditures
Budget $2.17 billion (2004)
Percent of GDP 1.81% (2005)

The Czech Armed Forces (Czech: Armáda České republiky) consists of Land and Air Forces and of specialized support units. After joining NATO in March 12, 1999, the Czech Republic is completing a major overhaul of the extensive Czechoslovak armed forces which until 1989 formed one of the pillars of the Warsaw Pact military alliance. Czech forces have been gradually downsized from 200,000 to 35,000 and at the same time modernized and reoriented toward defensive posture. In 2004 the army transformed into a fully professional organization and compulsory military service was ended.

Contents

[edit] Structure of the Czech Armed Forces

Structure of the Czech Armed Forces consis of three parts:

Structure of Joint Forces
Structure of Joint Forces


[edit] Commanding officers

  • Highest Commander of the Armed Forces: President of the Republic Václav Klaus
  • Chief of the General Staff: Lieutenant General Vlastimil Picek
  • Chief of the General Staff Office: Colonel Milan Šeiner
  • First Deputy Chief of the General Staff: Lieutenant General Jaroslav Kolkus
  • Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the ACR-Chief of Staff: Lieutenant General František Hrabal
  • Deputy Chief of the General Staff - Director of JOC (Operations Commander): Major General Josef Prokš
  • Director of Division for Development of Forces Branches - Operations Division: Brigadier General Josef Bečvář
    • Immediately Subordinated Offices:
    • Military Regional Office, Boletice
    • Military Regional Office, Brdy
    • Military Regional Office, Březina
    • Military Regional Office, Hradiště
    • Military Regional Office, Libavá
  • Support Policy Division: Director Major General Pavel Jevula
    • Immediately Subordinated Institutions:
    • Central Military Hospital, Prague
    • Military Hospital, Brno
    • Military Hospital, Olomouc
    • Institute of Aviation Medicine, Prague
  • Communication and Information Systems Division:Director - Chief of the Signal Corps of ACR: Colonel Jan Kaše
    • Immediately Subordinated Institutions:
    • 6th Communication Centre
    • Research and Communication Centre 080
    • Information Technology Development Agency
  • Force Planning Division: Acting Director Colonel František Mičánek
  • Reconnaissance and Electronic Warfare Department: Director Colonel Miroslav Žižka
    • Immediately Subordinated Office:
    • Military Geography and Hydrometeorology Office
  • Military Aviation Authority: Director Colonel Josef Otta

[edit] Equipment

Czech modernized T-72.
Czech modernized T-72.
Armored czech Tatra 813 truck as rocket launcher.
Armored czech Tatra 813 truck as rocket launcher.
ShKH Ondava: 152mm Self-propelled cannon howitzer
ShKH Ondava: 152mm Self-propelled cannon howitzer
Czech Air Force PZL W-3A
Czech Air Force PZL W-3A

Equipment size at January 1 2007:[1]

  • Main battle tanks:
  • 181x T-72 MBT (30 being upgraded to T72M4CZ , rest in reserve)

IFV:

  • 257x BMP-1 IFV(most in reserve - getting replaced by Pandur 8X8 APC and APC's)
  • 76x BPzV-1
  • 174x BMP-2 IFV
  • APC:
  • 29x OT-90 (scraped - getting replaced by Pandur 8X8 APC)
  • 43x OT-64 (scraped)
  • Aritillery:
  • 64x DANA 152mm SPH
  • 84x M 1982 towed mortar 120 mm
  • 8x Self propelled mortar 120 mm
  • 60x RM-70 122 mm MLRS
  • 3x ARTHUR Artillery Hunting Radar
  • Non armoured vehicles:
  • UAZ-469 - light off road vehicle
  • Land Rover Defender 110 - light off road vehicle
  • PRAGA V3S military trucks (will be scraped and replaced by new Tatra 810)
  • Tatra T815 (4x4, 6x6, 8x8 versions) military heavy trucks
  • ZIL 131
  • 4x ATF Dingo armored military truck (ordered to be delivered by February 2008)
  • 4x Iveco LMV armored light off road vehicle

Air defence missiles:

Combat aircraft and helicopters:

Training aircraft and helicopters:

[edit] Recent operations

The Czech Republic is a member of the UN and the OSCE and has contributed to numerous peacekeeping operations, including IFOR/SFOR in Bosnia, Desert Shield/Desert Storm, Afghanistan, Kosovo and Iraq.

Current deployments (as of 2005):

  • Kosovo: NATO Operation "Joint Enterprise" (KFOR) - 500 soldiers
  • Iraq: Coalition Operation of Multinational Forces - 96 soldiers
  • Bosnia and Herzegovina: European Union Operation (ALTHEA) - 65 soldiers
  • Afghanistan: NATO Operation (ISAF) - 17 soldiers in Kabul and 83 soldiers in Faizabad

Infantry weapons include: Sa vz. 58 assault rifle, Uk vz. 59, Škorpion vz. 61, Dragunov Sniper Rifle (SVD), CZ 700 sniper rifle, CZ 75 pistol, CZ 97B pistol, CZ 100 pistol, RPG-7V anti-tank grenade launcher, FGM-148 Javelin anti-tank guided missile,Carl Gustav recoilless rifle and Heckler & Koch MP5 submachine gun

[edit] Uniforms

Military band Olomouc in different types of uniforms:

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

[edit] See also

[edit] External links