Slovak and Polish Army Chiefs Discuss F-16 Integration and Training Cooperation

Poznan/Bratislava, 31 October (TASR) – Coordination in introducing new F-16 fighter jets into the arsenal of Slovakia's armed forces was one of the main issues discussed by Chief-of-General-Staff of the Slovak Armed Forces General Daniel Zmeko, and Chief-of-General-Staff of the Polish Army General Wieslaw Kukula at the Land Forces Training Centre in Poznan on Thursday, the special TASR correspondent in Warsaw reported on Friday. According to the Polish General Staff, the two military leaders discussed support for putting the new aircraft into service, as well as strengthening cooperation in training and technical coordination. The talks also focused on developing cooperation between the Land Forces Training Centre in Poznan and the Lest Training Centre in Slovakia, as well as on supporting the Slovak army in building a new mechanised brigade and bringing it up to full operational capability. During his visit to the Biedrusko training area, General Zmeko familiarised himself with the training process for Polish tank crews and personally tried driving a K2 Black Panther tank. These South Korean–made tanks, modified into the Polish version K2PL, are expected to become the most widely used tanks of the Polish army in the coming years. The Polish Defence Ministry signed a framework agreement for 1,000 such tanks in 2022. According to the Polish army, cooperation between the two countries in training, transformation and exchanges experience is an important element in strengthening collective security and represents another stage in developing cooperation within NATO. mf/df