Increasing defense spending is currently one of the key objectives of the North Atlantic Alliance, as evidenced by its intention to gradually increase defense spending to 5% of GDP. Although there is no consensus among NATO countries on how to achieve this target, it is difficult to find a country within the EU that is not modernizing its armed forces. Slovakia is no exception, as it wants to continue modernizing its armed forces despite the consolidation of public finances. This is one of the reasons why the Slovak government approved the Ministry of Defense's proposal to finance nine modernization projects from the European SAFE program.

On November 26, the Government of the Slovak Republic approved a proposal by the Ministry of Defense of the Slovak Republic to provide financial assistance to the Slovak Republic from the European Union's SAFE (Security Action for Europe) financial instrument. Under this program, up to €150 billion in financial resources are earmarked in the form of loans to strengthen the defense capabilities of EU countries, with Slovakia having a total of over €2.3 billion at its disposal. According to available information, Slovakia plans to use the entire amount of allocated funds, specifically to support nine modernization projects submitted by the Slovak Ministry of Defense in the proposed material.

In the submitted material, the Ministry of Defense of the Slovak Republic lists the following projects (total cost/financing from SAFE):

1)    Purchase of NG3 trucks (€1.774 billion / €1.594 billion)
2)    Acquisition of assault rifles, 9mm pistols, and sniper rifles (€85.43 million / €85.43 million)
3)    CV90 tracked infantry fighting vehicle project (€1.275 billion / €479.79 million)
4)    Joint purchase of 30, 35, 120, and 155 mm ammunition with other countries (€58 billion / €38.52 million)
5)    Skysense anti-drone system (€1.5 million / €1.5 million)
6)    EVA M3 self-propelled artillery system on a 6x6 chassis (€780 million / €62.4 million)
7)    120 mm automatic mortar (€594 million / €23.76 million)
8)    Božena 4+ mine clearance kits (€145 million / €4.83 million)
9)    UDS 214 Defence universal finishing machine (€497 million / €25.56 million)

Based on the information provided in the submitted material, most of the money under the SAFE instrument is to be used to finance the purchase of T-815 logistics and cargo vehicles in 4x4, 6x6, and 8x8 chassis configurations. A total of €1.594 billion from SAFE funds is to be allocated to this project. These trucks were ordered by the Ministry of Defense of the Slovak Republic in December last year, together with the Czech Republic. As part of the first phase of this project, which aims to replace the outdated vehicle fleet of the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic (OS SR), Slovakia purchased 250 Tatra T-815 vehicles, but by 2031, the Slovak Ministry of Defense plans to procure up to 1,307 NG3 category vehicles.

Other significant projects to be financed from SAFE funds include the purchase of small arms and CV9035 MkIV tracked infantry fighting vehicles. The acquisition of new rifles for Slovak soldiers will replace outdated weapons that do not allow the use of certain accessories, such as optics. The approved proposal provides for the full financing of the purchase of rifles, which corresponds to a value of €85,430,600 excluding VAT. In the case of the acquisition of 152 CV90 tracked IFVs with a 35 mm cannon worth €1.275 billion, financing from European sources is expected to amount to almost €480 million.

The approved proposal for financing strategic purchases for the Slovak Armed Forces includes not only strategic priorities such as trucks and tracked infantry fighting vehicles, but also interesting projects worth considering. Perhaps the most interesting of these is the acquisition and introduction of EVA self-propelled howitzers on a 6x6 chassis. According to available information, the Slovak Armed Forces currently lack a highly mobile medium artillery system that would also be easy to transport. At the same time, the Slovak Ministry of Defense states that the design solution must respond to current knowledge from the real-world deployment of 155 mm artillery systems, and therefore it is necessary to separate the ammunition from the howitzer crew. By implementing the latest battlefield insights, combined with the requirements of the Slovak Ministry of Defense, a new, improved EVA system can be created.

Although the Ministry of Defense does not directly state whether the purchase will actually take place and how many howitzers would be involved, the SAFE program is expected to cover costs of €62.4 million out of the total investment of €780 million. Malaysia currently wants to purchase a total of 18 EVA howitzers. This is a significantly lighter solution than the popular Slovak Zuzana 2 howitzer, which was directly involved in combat operations in Ukraine.