Dear participants of the Future Forces Forum, ladies and gentlemen,

It is an honor to serve as patron of this year’s Future Forces Forum.

We gather at a time when the nature of conflict is changing faster than ever before. Along with that, our conception of what modern national defense should look like must also evolve. Technological superiority and traditional military capabilities are no longer enough. We must innovate on the front lines, develop new technologies and quickly put them into practice, ensure we have sufficient ammunition, and wage electronic and cyber warfare.

For us as lawmakers, this leads to a simple conclusion: we cannot plan our defense for just the next few years. We must have a long-term vision of what capabilities the Czech Republic will need in ten, fifteen, or twenty years. This means not only modernizing the military but also creating favorable conditions for the Czech defense industry, supporting research and innovation, and fostering collaboration between the military, technology companies, and academia.

Russia is currently waging an open hybrid war against the Czech Republic, and NATO’s eastern flank is preparing for a high-intensity conflict. It is now even more important to be prepared for a potential crisis. The state must therefore work with the defense industry to build the necessary capabilities on time, ensure key suppliers and materials, and, above all, provide stable funding for the military.

I see great significance in the Future Forces Forum in this regard. It regularly brings together key players in the defense sector, addresses fundamental issues, and produces concrete results that we can subsequently incorporate into legislation and into the actual capabilities of our armed forces.

Thank you for the invitation. I wish all participants many inspiring meetings to strengthen Czech defense capabilities.