Slovak Republic army tests cutting edge mobile communications equipment

By U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Nathan Lipscomb, Combined Endeavor 2008 Public Affairs Slovakia Armoured Terrain Vehicle

BAUMHOLDER, Germany (May 14, 2008) - The Slovak Republic army is testing new communication vehicle-prototype configurations during Combined Endeavor 2008.

New vehicles equipped with Internet Protocol phones, high frequency radio and Wi-Fi, are being tested for compatibility with NATO standards.

More than 40 participating nations use CE 08 to plan, prepare and practice a full range of communications, equipment, policies and procedures prior to deploying for NATO missions and emerging real-world crises.

“This is just the first stage of our military trials for the communications systems and the vehicles,” said Slovak Republic army Capt. Karol Trup, delegation chief. “After we have proven that the communications equipment is interoperable with NATO requirements we will continue our military testing in the Slovak Republic to ensure they are up to the highest standards.”

While modernizing communications, the Slovak Republic army has also made significant upgrades to their existing military vehicles. 

“We have modernized our Tatra 815 6x6 to work on the military staff radio vehicle,” said Trup. “Now they can be used to carry our central command units, transforming them into mobile communication centers.”

Communications upgrades have also been made on the Armored Terrain Vehicle Tatrapan 6x6.

“We have used the Tatrapan 6x6 in our army as an ambulance and a troop carrier,” said Slovak Republic army 2nd Lt. Stefan Kucharsky, liaison officer. “Now we have a new version that is a mobile communications center.”

“This vehicle will allow us to increase communications between troops performing missions on the ground,” said Kucharsky.

We plan to increase our battlefield communications by adding satellite communications as part of the system in the future.”

The combat communications center project has been in the works for more than three years, said Kucharsky.

“This is truly a NATO system with communications equipment from all over the world,” said Trup. “When we decided to make an upgrade to our communications equipment it was important for us to incorporate the most up-to-date equipment available.” 

                                                                            -- CE 08 --

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