Ex Saber Strike is a unique occasion for practising defence capabilities side by side our allies

More than a year on from their start, the Slovak Armed Forces are finalising preparations for international Ex Saber Strike, designed to practise critical defence capabilities and to facilitate cooperation of military personnel in a multinational task force. Slovakia will join in with the Saber Strike series of exercises as they unfold in the region from the Baltics across Poland, through Czechia to Romania.

Chief of Defence Gen Daniel Zmeko explained that running an exercise of this scale is a challenge for the Slovak Armed Forces, saying: “We are proud that preparations are now moving forward according to plan. Focus of Ex Saber Strike is on strengthening cooperation amongst NATO allies. This is a bilateral SVK-U.S. exercise which will test our ability to work together with our strongest and most important strategic partner in the field of defence.”

In Slovakia, Ex Saber Strike is scheduled to run from 1 to 14 March 2022 at the Training Centre Lešť, on Levice Garrison's training ground and at Sliač Air Base. The exercise will involve a training audience of 3,000 military personnel with some 1,000 pieces of equipment. The foreign troops will leave the country on completion of the exercise. This training activity was planned well in advance and was officially approved by the SVK Government at the end of last year, whilst the SVK Chief of Defence consulted closely on it with some of his counterparts at the most recent session of the NATO Military Committee in Brussels.

The training event comes part of standard exercises for armed forces and is not linked to the U.S.-SVK Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA), which is pending approval and hence is not yet in force.