Army of the Czech Republic

Army of the Czech Republic
Armáda České republiky
Coat of Arms
Roundel
Founded30 June 1918
(106 years, 7 months)
Current form1 January 1993
(32 years, 1 month)
Service branches
HeadquartersPrague, Czech Republic
Websitearmy.cz/en/
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 age18
ConscriptionAbolished in 2004[1]
Active personnel30,334 professional[2]
4,900 active reserve[2]
8,475 civilian employees[2]
Deployed personnel2,000 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
BudgetCZK 160,8 billion ($6.75 billion) (2025)[2]
Percent of GDP2% (2025)[2]
Industry
Domestic suppliers
Foreign suppliers
Related articles
RanksCzech 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]

  1. ^ Jaroslav Roušar (2006). Česká republika a její profesionální armáda (PDF). Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic. ISBN 80-7278-312-2. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 November 2006.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Rozpočet Armády na rok 2025
  3. ^ "Czechs Choose, Cancel, then Come Back to Pandur II APCs".
  4. ^ a b c d ""Stockholm International Peace Research Institute Trade Register"".
  5. ^ "Poland Snaps Up 23 MiGs for 1 Euro | Business | The Moscow Times". Archived from the original on 14 February 2015.
  6. ^ "Czech MoD to buy three Spanish EADS CASA-295M transport aircraft".
  7. ^ "Czechs bought three CASA aircraft for price of four, 2005 document shows". 16 July 2012.
  8. ^ "Gripen Contract Signed for Czech Republic". Archived from the original on 25 June 2018. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
  9. ^ "Saab contracted for Gripen lease extension in Czech Republic - Airforce Technology". 14 December 2014.
  10. ^ "Czech Republic Eager to Buy More Land Rover Vehicles for Foreign Missions".
  11. ^ The Czech Armed Forces Development Concept 2030 (PDF) (1 ed.). Prague: Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic – MHI Prague. 2020. p. 7. ISBN 978-80-7278-803-3. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
  12. ^ "Armed Forces » Professional Army". Ministry of Defence & Armed Forces of the Czech Republic. Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  13. ^ "Organisational Structure of the General Staff of ACR". Ministry of Defence & Armed Forces of the Czech Republic. Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
  14. ^ "Polovina českých tanků stojí "na špalcích", varuje vojenský analytik". 4 June 2022.
  15. ^ "Typy kurzů základní přípravy | Velitelství výcviku - Vojenská akademie".
  16. ^ "Ozbrojení civilisté a budoucí bezpečnostní krize".
  17. ^ "Na obranu půjdou ze zákona dvě procenta HDP, normu podepsal Pavel - Novinky". 7 June 2023.

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