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Sistemska Tehnika

Sistemska tehnika Armas is the biggest company in the Slovenian defense industry. Product development and production are based on highly educated and experienced staff, modern equipment for development of products and technologies, quality material base, that has been upgraded with high-end thermical treatment and laboratory for non-destructive testing and calibration which is accredited according to international standards. Excellence is proven by standards ISO 9001 and 14001 and long and close cooperation with Slovenian Army, research institutions and companies in Slovenia and abroad.

The company implements servicing, reconstruction and upgrading of artillery weapons and armoured wheeled or caterpillar vehicles together with armament, the communication and vision system. It is carrying out a regular maintenance service of Valuk 6x6 vehicles for the Slovenian Army.

The company delivers finish machined and hydrostatically tested smooth barrels, breech rings and firing pins, etc. for mortars from 50 mm to 120 mm calibre in conformance with customer drawings and technical requirements. These products can be also delivered as rough-machined and heat treated only. It delivers barrels, breech rings and breech blocks as rough-machined and heat treated for aircraft cannons and anti-aircraft guns, recoilles guns, howitzers, guns, tank guns and gun howitzers from 20 mm to 203 mm calibre.

A rich experience in the development of materials for artillery barrels, technology of steelmaking, forging, heat treatment and machining place the company among the leading producers of rough-machined and heat treated barrels as well as other highly stressed parts of artillery weapons. All products are made out of forgings with the minimum rate of reduction by forging of 3. We supply barrels up to 9500 mm length and up to 6000 kg weight (for ex. 155/52 barrel). Sub-assemblies for a cylinder buffer, hydraulic brake and equilibrator are delivered as finish machined and hydrostatically tested in compliance with customer drawings and technical requirements.

The Russian, Polish and Slovak variants of T-55 are the most widely extended types of tanks in the world. At least 30,000 are still in use which makes this tank the most graceful subject for upgrading. Its combat capacities can be easily increased also up to 100%. Its robust construction and simple maintenance in a combination with upgrading provides an efficient and realiable combat vehicle which can handle the toughest tasks of modern comprehension of the use of armoured systems. As all mounted upgrading elements are of a modular design, to avoid additional alterations of a tank structure, they can be easily replaced with modern parts prolonging their life by at least ten to fifteen years, retaining the level typical for the second generation of tanks.

The Slovenian Ministry of Defense's (MOD) announcement on June 12, 2006 that Finnish defense contractor Patria won a 330 million USD (263 million Euro) contract to supply 135 8x8 armored vehicles to the GoS, was by months of simmering allegations beginning with complaints of non-transparency in the tender review and selection process. The losing (and only other) bidder in the controversial tender was a company with U.S. interest -- Slovenian defense company Sistemska Tehnika (ST), which is 70 percent owned by Slovenia-based Viator & Vektor (V&V) and 12.7 percent owned by Austria-based Steyr-Daimler-Puch, which, in turn, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the General Dynamics (GD) corporation.

One issue was the ongoing debate about where the Patria 8x8 will be built in Slovenia, with losing bidder ST owning the only active military vehicle assembly plant in the country (in Ravne na Koroskem). Patria's local representative Rotis said that Slovenian home appliance manufacturer Gorenje (the lead subcontractor for the Patria deal despite its lack of a military branch) would ultimately be the manufacturer and assembler of the vehicles.

Media reports in December 2006 highlighted rumors that ST owners Viator & Vektor (and its parent company General Dynamics) were considering selling ST or simply the assembly plant in Ravne na Koroskem to Gorenje, given that ST no longer had an interest in the production of 8x8 vehicles in Slovenia. The move would effectively allow production in the same plant by the same workers as the ST bid called for, but under ownership of the preferred bidder. Gorenje leadership said that acquiring ST was not in its plans, however the General Manager of Rotis Ivan Crnkovic said, in media interviews, that it would be a "winning formula for the Slovenian economy."

On 31 January 2007 Gorenje announced that it would build parts and assemble the vehicles at a Gorenje facility in the town of Sostanj, though Gorenje CEO Franjo Bobinac told media that Gorenje would not exclude the possibility of cooperation with other Slovenian companies, including ST. Media reports 19 April 2007 said that Gorenje had received building permits for a 9,000 square meter plant in Sostanj that would be operational by fall 2007, with the first Slovenian-produced Patria armored vehicle coming out sometime in 2008.

ST's new general manager announced 20 February 2007 that the company would split into two units, one military and one civilian, with the bulk of ST's future interests coming from the latter's production of consumer products. There has been no further decision on the future of ST's Ravne na Koroskem military vehicle assembly plant.