Despite higher defence spending, key weaknesses of the Czech armed forces remain virtually unchanged, according to Ministry of Defence documents and audit reports.
The Czech Army is not prepared for a conflict. It lacks sufficient resources, funding, equipment and personnel. Given the Czech Republic’s role within NATO, where it primarily serves as a transport and logistics hub, the country also lacks adequate infrastructure.
This is according to an analysis of publicly available documents conducted by Update-EU.
The situation has not improved despite the fact that the army has been highlighting the same shortcomings in its reports since 2015.
“Over the past two decades, the Czech Republic has spent approximately CZK 600 billion less on defence than it had committed to. This has created a significant debt towards the Czech armed forces, which is gradually being repaid,” the analysis states.
“However, military procurement contracts will only translate into actual capabilities after several years. Despite increased investment in the modernisation of the Czech Army and efforts to improve the recruitment of professional soldiers, numerous obstacles remain to be overcome.”
This was how last year’s Report on the State of Defence of the Czech Republic assessed the state of the Czech military.
The identified obstacles include a shortage of soldiers, a lack of legislation allowing for a rapid and effective response to international security threats, neglected military infrastructure and insufficient military equipment.
The classified report was followed by last year’s Concept for the Development of the Czech Armed Forces (KVAČR 2035), which outlines the desired state of the military by 2035. It provides a more detailed picture of the current state of the armed forces.
The Czech Army Is Not Prepared for Conflict
The report identified both strengths and weaknesses.
Among its strengths, the internal military document lists NATO membership, experience from foreign deployments, the readiness of soldiers and reduced technical and material dependence on Russia.
The weaknesses are considerably more alarming. They point to “low personnel numbers within the Czech Army, an unfavourable age structure and limited possibilities for ensuring long-term personnel sustainability.”
The report also highlights limited capabilities to provide air defence for Czech territory using domestic assets and to conduct long-range, high-precision strikes, as well as insufficient mobile and operational stocks of equipment and ammunition, including precision-guided munitions.
According to the report, Czechia has limited capabilities and capacities in combat support and combat service support, particularly “due to the slow pace of replacement and modernisation of equipment and material. (...) Fixed infrastructure does not meet the required standards for supporting allied forces on Czech territory. (...) Force protection does not sufficiently reflect the changing nature of modern armed conflict.”
Put simply, the Czech Army is not prepared for an international conflict, whether in terms of personnel, equipment, facilities or infrastructure.
Paradoxically, the 2025 assessment uses almost identical wording to the assessment of the army published in 2015. In other words, over the past decade, the army’s key weaknesses have changed very little.
Funding Remains a Long-Term Problem
Years of underfunding have done little to improve the situation.
Last year, the previous government set a target of spending at least two percent of GDP on defence – the minimum commitment required under NATO guidelines. A subsequent NATO audit, however, revealed that the originally declared figure of more than two percent had been overstated. According to the Alliance’s assessment, Czechia spent 1.85 percent of GDP on defence in 2025.
Although 2024 and 2025 were the strongest years in terms of defence spending, with both coming close to the two-percent target, Czechia nevertheless ranked last within the Alliance. Together with Slovenia and Albania, it was among NATO’s weakest members in terms of defence investment.
KVAČR 2035 also identifies insufficient funding as one of the main risks.
“Failure to maintain the financial framework necessary to ensure defence and the continued underfunding of the Czech Army,” the document states among its main threats.
The Heavy Brigade Is Still Not Operational
The plans developed over the past decade were nevertheless ambitious.
In 2018, then-Chief of the General Staff Josef Bečvář described the Czech Army as being built around “balanced capabilities”.
“This means everything from light manoeuvre units through medium forces to a fully capable heavy element, which will be completed once the 7th Mechanised Brigade has been re-equipped. The procurement of multi-purpose helicopters also fits into this concept,” Bečvář said at the time.
Subsequent reports, however, suggest that only a small part of these ambitions has been fulfilled.
KVAČR 2035 once again identifies the completion of the heavy mechanised brigade – specifically the 7th Mechanised Brigade – as one of the army’s main priorities. The same objective had already appeared in the previous Concept for the Development of the Czech Armed Forces 2025, published in 2015.
Too Few Soldiers
The shortage of personnel remains one of the biggest challenges facing the Czech Army. Although recruitment campaigns have gradually increased the overall number of soldiers, official assessments remain far from optimistic.
In addition to low personnel numbers, KVAČR 2035 identifies structural and qualitative shortcomings. In practice, this means that the army lacks not only sufficient personnel, but also enough adequately trained and prepared soldiers.
The Czech Supreme Audit Office reached similar conclusions in a report published last March.
Despite investments of almost CZK 1.8 billion in the modernisation of military training facilities between 2019 and 2024, auditors concluded that the facilities remain inadequate both in terms of capacity and equipment, limiting the effectiveness of military training.
“Repeated postponement of investments and frequent changes in priorities also lead to inefficient use of public funds. For example, delays in the construction of garages in Přáslavice and Bučovice mean that newly delivered infantry fighting vehicles will temporarily have to be stationed in Vyškov. Their crews will therefore have to travel dozens of kilometres on a regular basis, increasing transport and logistics costs,” the auditors wrote.
The audit also criticised the efficiency of spending on training facilities.
“The Czech Army still does not have enough modern simulators and training systems, nor are they interoperable within NATO. These technologies are essential for providing comprehensive training while reducing costs,” the report states.
Auditors also warned that the army’s recruitment strategy could become unsustainable.
“Failure to meet recruitment targets means that any sudden increase in the number of new soldiers would overload the capacity of existing training facilities.”
Experts Also Point to a Personnel Shortage
Academics specialising in defence issues have reached similar conclusions.
Although the available data are not encouraging, they note that the army’s actual readiness could only truly be assessed during an armed conflict.
In an interview with the Czech public broadcaster iRozhlas.cz in May, defence expert Zdeněk Petráš of the University of Defence argued that a large part of the military’s actual capabilities remains classified for understandable reasons.
At the same time, he noted that the composition of military equipment is only one part of the picture, given the Czech Republic’s primary logistical role within NATO.
“We can observe competition from the civilian labour market, demographic developments and growing demands for technically qualified soldiers. A strong economy does not necessarily help recruitment – quite the opposite. Recruiting high-quality personnel capable of strengthening the armed forces is generally easier during periods of economic and social hardship,” Petráš said.
Jan Ludvík of the Institute of Political Studies at Charles University expressed a similar view in 2024.
“Those who remained in the professional army after compulsory military service was abolished are now approaching retirement age. A large number of soldiers are leaving, while at the same time the army needs even more personnel than before. It therefore faces the challenge of retaining those who are willing and able to stay while also attracting new recruits. So far, it has not been entirely successful,” Ludvík told iRozhlas.cz.
