A N A LYS I S Defence Industry in Central Eastern Europe The Defence Sector in Slovakia Jakub Adámek 1. Introduction and Overview 1.1 Context Since 2022, the defence sector in Europe has been undergo ­ing a significant transformation. The Russian aggression against Ukraine has brought about a fundamental change in the perception of global security, which is reflected in a dramatic increase in defence budgets, an increased empha ­sis on ammunition production, the use of ground equip ­ment and air defence, but also relatively new elements such as drones and electronic warfare. There is also a no­ticeable shift towards societal resilience(Total Defence), which connects conventional forms of defence with what were previously more civilian domains such as industry, critical infrastructure, and civil protection. 1 With regard so Slovakia’s place within the EU, the adoption of the Defence Industry Transformation Roadmap 2 and new instruments(EDIRPA, ASAP, SAFE) will result in the sup ­port of joint purchases, increased production capacities(es ­pecially ammunition) and joint development in the follow­ing new priority areas: → drones and unmanned technologies; → electronic warfare; → cyber defence; and → space systems. Within this evolving environment, Slovakia is increasingly emerging as a country with the potential to become a sig­nificant regional player in the defence sector. This potential is particularly evident in the areas of ammunition produc­tion, ground-based military equipment, and specialised systems such as engineering and mine-clearance plat­forms, turret systems, and automatic loaders. By combin ­ing established industrial traditions with ongoing invest­ments and international partnerships, Slovakia is gradually 1  https://www.aerospace-and-defence.com/five-trends-shaping-european-defence-2026-a-04de9343ade799f867f62e899c20f838/?utm 2  https://defence-industry-space.ec.europa.eu/document/download/513de692-d08c-40cc-80c3-cb6611ace178_en?filename=EU-Defence-Industry-Transformation-Roadmap.pdf The Defence Sector in Slovakia 1