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Airmen of Helicopter Wing Prešov practice moving to and operating out of a reserve airfield on Ex Alertex 2023

Ministry of Defence of The Slovak Republic

06.06.2023

As part of Slovakia's Ex Alertex 2023, a readiness verification exercise, airmen of the Helicopter Wing Prešov practiced a so-called "airfield manoeuver", in other words, moving to, taking over and operating out of an area held as a reserve airfield.

Speaking of Ex Alertex 2023, Col Marek Homola, Commander Helicopter Wing Prešov, said: "In the event of escalating threats, military units must be ready to move at short notice and leave their permanent bases to avoid being detected and destroyed. And that's exactly what we practiced doing when we moved our helicopters and support equipment to a pre-designated reserve location."

Even as force protection duties in self-defence against an imminent attack are among the core tasks assigned to troops on Ex Alertex 2023, the transfer of an entire helicopter wing to a reserve airfield belongs to the most demanding challenges and has not been practiced in this complex form and to this extent for over 20 years.

Airmen of the Prešov-based Helicopter Wing, joining forces with logisticians of the SVK Army's Joint Support Brigade Trenčín, transferred dozens of pieces of helicopters and support equipment to the reserve site and prepared the airfield operating surface for helicopter operations - these followed immediately after the arrival of Slovak Air Force UH-60M Blackhawks. Security and force protection operations at the reserve airfield were provided by soldiers of the Reconnaissance Battalion Prešov.

Ex Alertex 2023 is a long-scheduled readiness verification exercise which sees the entirety of the Slovak Armed Forces undertaking tasks in the face of escalating threats in an unstable security environment. The aim of the exercise is to verify the operational readiness of the Slovak Armed Forces, falling under their statutory duty set out in existing legislation, through simulated scenarios.

We want to assure the public that the tasks being performed on the exercise are not a direct response to the ongoing developments in Ukraine. For this reason, we once again call on the public not to fall victim to or spread misinformation. Should you have any questions on the activities of the armed forces, you can find answers at the MOD and Armed Forces websites or use the listed military telephone or email points of contact (POC).