WARSAW — Czech President Milos Zeman has appointed Lt. Gen. Josef Becvar as the new chief of the General Staff of the Czech Armed Forces. Becvar will replace Gen. Petr Pavel.
Following his appointment, Becvar said that the priorities for his term include acquisitions of new weapons and military equipment, for the Czech military, including the planned purchase of helicopters, reports local broadcaster Ceska Televize.
"This is a very important moment, because we finally need to make clear what we want our armed forces to be, what kind of weapons we need, and how big the military should be," Becvar said.
Becvar formerly served as the commander of the Military Police and as Czech defense attaché in France.
The Czech Ministry of Defense has been is planning to acquire 16 multipurpose helicopters to replace the military's Soviet-designed helos, which are to will be withdrawn from service by 2018. Last year, senior military officials announced that deliveries of the new aircraft are scheduled to take place from 2016 to 2020.
Pavel, who served as the chief of the General Staff between July 2012 and May 2015, will take over as the head of NATO's Military Committee this June.
Jaroslaw Adamowski is the Poland correspondent for Defense News.
