Author: army.cz|Caption: Toyota Hilux
The Ministry of Defense has set as one of its priorities the replacement of Soviet technology with modern vehicles. It sought to scrap the obsolete UAZ and also Land Rover Defender off-road vehicles. Now the winner of the tender is already known - Toyota Hilux cars, at a price of 893 thousand CZK per piece.
The Ministry of Defense decided to replace Land Rover Defenders and ex-soviet UAZ’s with pick-up cars. The decision was to come before the end of the year. The cars are to perform mainly rear and logistical tasks, and they do not participate in direct combat.
Now the Army has announced the winner, the Toyota Hilux, which is to replace the old vehicles in 2021-2024. The most advantageous offer, which met all the requirements, was offered by the Glomex MS company, which competed in the tender with Toyota Hilux cars, the price of which amounts to CZK 893 thousand with VAT per piece. On November 5, the selection of the most advantageous offer was approved by the College of Defense Minister.
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Funds in the amount of 1.6 billion were allocated for new vehicles and 12 companies applied for the contract. Replacement of old vehicles was one of the priorities of the current Minister of Defense Lubomír Metnar and Chief of General Staff Aleš Opata. "Soldiers are already in dire need of a service, support and security vehicle," said Aleš Opata, Chief of the General Staff of the Czech Army.
Uncertainties in the tender
The whole tender, on the other hand, was accompanied by some ambiguities. At the end of 2019, the tender for the supply of 1,200 off-road vehicles was canceled and a new one was announced in June. As Jan Pejšek, spokesman for the Ministry of Defense, explained at the time, "We canceled the contract in accordance with the law, because some interested parties interpreted some required parameters too strictly, for example for vehicle painting." At that time, for example, Pavel Růžička, member of the Defense Committee, wondered about the original tender conditions, from which, according to him, it was not clear whether the Army wanted a personal off-road vehicle or a pick-up truck.
See also: The purchase of off-road vehicles: the Army is to defend the change of assignment
The assignment of the Ministry of Defense was not entirely clear. The original requirement for an off-road passenger car in the M1 or M1G category, which the Army originally wanted, ceased to apply, and the new requirement was for the purchase of an off-road passenger car, a pick-up in the N1G category, trucks weighing up to 3.5 tonnes. This is a four-door variant, because the two-seater version could not replace the old Soviet vehicles or the Land Rovers. The new cars were to accommodate a crew of five with cargo and equipment.
The problematic point seemed to be the fact whether pick-ups can adequately replace older vehicles. The planned vehicles are smaller and the space is more cramped. Given that the Ministry of Defense expects the pick-ups to be manned by five soldiers, the three men of the crew, for example, would fit in with considerable difficulty.