SAFEGUARD 2026 exercise to test the protection of the Břeclav Compressor Station

At the end of this week, SAFEGUARD 2026, a joint military exercise, will take place at the Břeclav Compressor Station operated by NET4GAS. During the exercise, soldiers of the Army of the Czech Republic will be present at various locations around the station’s premises. Their presence will not restrict employees or the public in any way. The aim of the exercise is to test readiness to ensure the external protection of the compressor station, which forms part of the national critical infrastructure. Training gunfire and sounds from Integrated Rescue System (IRS) units may be heard, and smoke effects may be seen in the vicinity of the station. No response to these is required.

“We regard ensuring the safe and reliable transmission of natural gas as our primary responsibility, and the security of our facilities serves this purpose. That is why we regularly prepare for potential crisis situations together with the units of the Integrated Rescue System. The SAFEGUARD 2026 exercise is exceptional for us in one respect – for the first time, we have organised it in cooperation with the Army of the Czech Republic. This opportunity allows us to verify our mutual cooperation and preparedness for emergencies in practice,” said Milan Váša, Executive Director for Operations of NET4GAS.

The exercise at the Břeclav Compressor Station will take place from 25 to 28 June. Active Reserve soldiers of the 241st Territorial Defence Battalion will train in responding to several scenarios of attacks on the compressor station. These range from attempted unauthorised entry to the premises to threats posed by unmanned aerial vehicles. The Regional Military Command Brno cooperates with other organisations in the field of drone defence. During the exercise, it will draw on the expertise of the University of Defence, which focuses intensively on the detection and neutralisation of drones in built-up areas.

The exercise will also make use of an application developed by Masaryk University (MUNI) that applies artificial intelligence (AI) to the protection and guarding of an endangered facility. The application is used to determine the optimal patrol pattern.

“Today’s globalised world is not safe, and we need to prepare adequately to secure the functioning of key elements of critical infrastructure, which is the main task of the 241st Territorial Defence Battalion. I am pleased that, in cooperation with NET4GAS, we were able to practise activities that are key to fulfilling this task in the event of a crisis or an attempt to disrupt the functioning of these elements,” said Colonel (GS) Alois Matýzka, Director of the Regional Military Command Brno.

Contact for media:
David Hořínek
Mobile: +420 737 250 855
E-mail: david.horinek@net4gas.cz