BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 10. Slovenian Armed Forces presented the renovated and modernized Crngrob shooting range near Škofja Loka, showcasing its technical capabilities and enhanced safety, noise reduction, and fire protection measures, Trend reports.
The presentation was attended by the Commander of the Forces, Brigadier Boštjan Močnik. In his speech, he emphasized not only the improved standards and better conditions for shooting training, but also the importance of raising the overall readiness of the Slovenian Armed Forces. He also spoke about cooperation with the local community.
The officer in charge of introducing the range into operational use, Lieutenant Colonel Aleš Kesič, highlighted that the renovation represents an important step toward improving the combat training of Slovenian Armed Forces personnel and ensuring more transparent and safer training. He also pointed out noise mitigation measures as well as flood and fire protection improvements.
The range is designed for standardized shooting with pistols, automatic rifles, and light machine guns, which allow members of the Slovenian Armed Forces to meet their annual shooting standards. It is also used for close-range shooting, which serves as a transition to tactical combat shooting—training the armed forces for operations in urban environments and counterterrorism missions—as well as for competitive shooting, through which the military develops shooting excellence. In the coming days, the range will host an international shooting competition.
Since the Crngrob range is located near the villages of Crngrob, Šutna, and Dorfarje, part of the investment’s goal was to minimize the impact of military training on the local environment. The firing sector closest to the village of Crngrob was shut down, while both boundary sectors were enclosed with 3.5-meter-high ballistic walls. Noise measurements show that noise toward Crngrob has been reduced by half, though the situation toward Dorfarje has not improved.
Therefore, the Slovenian Armed Forces have erected an additional ballistic wall behind the firing positions in one sector and will build another as soon as a new maintenance and construction contract is signed. Ballistic walls around the entire range, facing all nearby villages, are expected to be completed later this year. Special attention was also given to the installation of bullet traps and targets. The renovation additionally strengthened the site’s fire and flood safety. The water basin, which provides firefighting water for the village of Crngrob—where there is no hydrant network—was refurbished, and its water level can now be regulated.
The range is primarily intended for training the Slovenian Armed Forces, but in accordance with government regulations, it can also be used by the Police and other state bodies or organizations whose activities serve the public interest in the field of defense.
Before the renovation, approximately 7,000 personnel trained annually at the range. According to the Defense Act, the Slovenian Armed Forces conduct military education and training for commanding armed combat and other forms of defense, maintain required readiness levels, fulfill contractual obligations undertaken by the country within international organizations, and, in the event of an attack on the country, carry out military defense.
The renovation of the shooting range, completed in spring, cost 2.7 million euros.
