Prague, Dec 22 (CTK) – The Czech military will need about 460 billion crowns until 2025, according to the new military development plan approved by the cabinet.
Out of the sum, 150 billion crowns will go to development projects such as the purchases of equipment and ammunition.
The rest will be spent on operational costs and soldiers´ salaries.
The military plans to purchase combat helicopters, medium-size transport planes and tracked combat vehicles, according to the part of the document that is open to the public.
The plan, which the cabinet approved on Monday, reacts to the changes in the security situation and to the long-lasting underfinancing of the Czech military.
“The Czech Republic and its allies face the worst security situation in the past 20 years. An inter-state military conflict in Europe that would immediately threaten the Czech Republic´s security interests cannot be ruled out at present,” says the document drafted by the military command.
It says a conflict may break out unexpectedly and very quickly.
The development of the Czech military should correspond to the situation. The military should have the necessary “human reserves” as well as materiel reserves, the document says.
It says the military should be stabilised by 2020, after years of previous budget cuts, and it should markedly develop by 2025.
Nevertheless, the authors of the document admit that financial analyses do not enable certain plans to be implemented before 2025.
They say the securing of financial means is of a crucial importance.
By entering NATO in 1999, the Czech Republic pledged to spend 2 percent of GDP on defence, but its spends about one percent on it now.
The parties of the centre-left government coalition have agreed on raising the defence spending to 1.4 percent of GDP by 2020.
If so, and if the Czech economy grew by 2 percent annually, the Defence Ministry´s budget would reach 72.86 billion crowns in 2020.
The ministry´s budget for 2016 is projected at 47.59 billion crowns.
($1=24.947 crowns)
