Pitfalls of Army Reform: Officer Screening, Air Force Future

This document, a JPRS report dated September 18, 1990, titled 'Pitfalls of Army Reform: Officer Screening, Air Force Future,' provides an assessment of the state of the Czechoslovakian Air Force during a period of political and military transition. The author, Jaroslav Spurny, notes that Czechoslovakia maintained a high per capita number of warplanes compared to other European nations, including France, Great Britain, and the Federal Republic of Germany. The report highlights that the Air Force was the most expensive military component, with a single air regiment costing approximately 1 billion korunas annually. The author argues that the military was facing difficulties in achieving savings by limiting aircraft operations, as ground support costs remained constant regardless of the number of planes in use. Furthermore, the report criticizes the continued modernization of the Air Force through the purchase of Soviet equipment, specifically citing the acquisition of six MiG-29 aircraft at a cost of 50 million korunas each. This reliance on Soviet technology created a dependency for spare parts, which the author suggests could become a liability if Czechoslovakia were to leave the Warsaw Pact. The document also addresses the logistical issue of airfield distribution, noting that there were 22 military airfields in use, with an unbalanced distribution that favored the Czech Republic over Slovakia. Local protests regarding the proximity of airfields to residential areas, such as in Zvolen, are also mentioned.