Defence Minister Signs Purchase of Guns

The Government is to buy more than 46,000 guns with related equipment worth almost €23 million excluding VAT to be used by police, prison guards, customs officers and the military.
Interior Minister Robert Kalinak on Thursday signed a framework agreement on the purchase. The police alone will receive 24,000 guns. "The Police Corps is rearming itself for the first time in 20 years. It's about time," said Robert Kalinak. The new arms will be supplied by Glock (Austria) and Ceska Zbrojovka Uhersky Brod (the Czech Republic). CZ is providing three types of gun - Standard, Kompakt and Subkompakt. Glock will supply the widely used law-enforcement Glock 17 pistol. The biggest difference between the currently used guns and the new ones is in their weight and cartridges, said Kalinak. While the police are using Makarov bullets at the moment, they will soon use Luger cartridges. "This is ammo used by police across the EU," said Kalinak, adding that the goal isn't to kill offenders, but to stop them and bring them before a court. "All these guns will be produced in Slovakia," noted Kalinak. Both companies have assembly plants in the country - Glock near Bratislava and CZ in Novaky (north west Slovakia). The first deliveries of the new guns are expected to take place in January and February, with the rearming process to be concluded in the summer.