Army of the Czech Republic | |
---|---|
Armáda České republiky | |
Founded | 30 June 1918 (106 years, 7 months) |
Current form | 1 January 1993 (32 years, 1 month) |
Service branches | |
Headquarters | Prague, Czech Republic |
Website | army |
Leadership | |
President | Army General Petr Pavel |
Prime Minister | Petr Fiala |
Minister of Defence | Jana Černochová |
Chief of the General Staff | Lieutenant General Karel Řehka |
Personnel | |
Military age | 18 |
Conscription | Abolished in 2004[1] |
Active personnel | 30,334 professional[2] 4,900 active reserve[2] 8,475 civilian employees[2] |
Deployed personnel | 2,000 NATO EFP (Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria) 40 NATO SATU 56 NATO DJC Module 95 NATO Icelandic Air Policing 30 NATO Mauritania 50 NATO KFOR 20 NATO OIR and NMI 200 EU Operation Althea 10 EU Operation Irini 100 EUMAM Ukraine (Separate from UA training within Czech Republic.) 10 UNDOF 20 Ukraine (embassy protection) (2025)[2] |
Expenditure | |
Budget | CZK 160,8 billion ($6.75 billion) (2025)[2] |
Percent of GDP | 2% (2025)[2] |
Industry | |
Domestic suppliers | |
Foreign suppliers | |
Related articles | |
Ranks | Czech military ranks |
The Czech Armed Forces (Czech: Armáda České republiky, lit. 'the Army of the Czech Republic'), also known as the Czech Army, is the military service responsible for the defence of the Czech Republic as part of the Armed Forces of the Czech Republic (Czech: ozbrojené síly České republiky)[11] alongside the Military Office of the President of the Republic and the Castle Guard.[12] The army consists of the General Staff, the Land Forces, the Air Force and support units.[13]
Czech Army's main historical legacy and inspiration stems from the 15th century Hussite militia, which is credited with numerous warfare advancements, including introduction of firearms to field battles as well as the wagon fort strategy, called vozová hradba in Czech. Modern history precedes the 1918 Czechoslovak declaration of independence with formal establishment of the Czechoslovak Legion fighting on the side of the Entente powers during the WW1. Following the Munich Agreement, the country was occupied by Nazi Germany and the Army was reconstituted in exile, fighting on the side of Allies of World War II in the European as well as Mediterranean and Middle East theatre. After the 1948 Communist Coup, the Czechoslovak People's Army with over 200,000 active personnel and some 4,500 tanks[14] formed one of the pillars of the Warsaw Pact military alliance.
Following the Velvet Revolution and dissolution of Czechoslovakia, the Czech Republic joined NATO in 1999. The conscription was abolished in 2004, leading to transformation into a modern professional army inspired mostly by the British Armed Forces and USMC example.[citation needed] Today, the Czech Army has around 30.000 professional personnel and 4.900 members of active reserves. Additionally, any citizen can voluntarily join a five-week basic training without becoming a soldier[15] or join advanced shooting training with their privately owned firearms and become a member of militia-style Designated Reserves.[16]
A law adopted in June 2023 stipulates that the military expenditures shall not be lower than 2% of country's GDP, starting from 2024.[17]