Slovakia decided to postpone the planned fighter aircraft acquisition to proceed with upgrading its armed forces, according to the country's Defence Minister. The NATO member state has been in talks with several companies about replacing its aging Russian-made MiG-29s and was expected to make a decision by the end of this month. However, the Minister of Defence Peter Gajdos said this would be delayed, adding that they need to modernize the ground forces which were the backbone of the military. “While we have been replacing some parts of the air force, the ground forces have not been renewed for decades,” he said. 

Slovak Ministry of Defence will spend about $7,80 billion on modernization by 2030, according to the strategy document released last week.