Slovenia has received forty tactical lories produced by Rheinmetall MAN from Germany for which it sent 28 M55S tanks to Ukraine as part of a swap deal agreed to earlier this year.
The delivery marks the completion of the deal agreed upon between both countries in September after months of negotiations.
“What we have here is the start of a medium-sized battalion battlegroup,” Defence Minister Marjan Šarec said.
The eight-wheeled lorries will form the battlegroup’s core equipment, along with OshKosh light tactical vehicles agreed to as part of the state-to-state agreement with the US. Slovenia has so far received 38 light tactical vehicles and is expected to receive another 84.
The new vehicles are a welcome addition for the Slovenian Armed Forces, which have struggled for years with understaffing and inadequate financing.
Things did not start to change much until the previous government beefed up defence spending and started ordering equipment such as transport aircraft.
Major General Robert Glavaš, the chief of the general staff, expressed satisfaction that after years of “material draught” a brighter future seems to be ahead.
(Sebastijan R. Maček | sta.si)
Source: euractiv.com
