Czech Defence News of the Week (1st – 8th November 2019)

Author: Vladimír Ficenec, army.cz|Caption: Czech JAS-39C escorts a Russian aircraft over Baltic

Reconnaissance group of Czech Active Reserves from the 102nd Reconnaissance Battalion engaged in the Slovak Shield exercise. – First rotation of the Czech contingent guarding the airspace of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. – Contract for the purchase of helmets for the Czech Army signed with ARGUN company.

• The Slovak Shield 2019 exercise has been held in the premises of the Slovak training center Lešť. It is attended by 1500 professional soldiers from V4 countries, Portugal and the USA. Part of the program is the reconnaissance units Clear Sign 2019 exercise, during which soldiers of the Czech 102nd Reconnaissance Battalion and ISTAR Battalion of the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic cooperate. For the first time ever, a reconnaissance group of Czech Active Reserves from the 102nd Reconnaissance Battalion is engaged in similar training. The 102nd Reconnaissance Battalion is part of the53rd Regiment of Reconnaissance and Electronic Warfare.

See also: Czech Army’s Active Reserve – numbers are rising (should be 5,000 by 2025)

• The Czech contingent guarding the airspace of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia began performing its operational task on 1st September, and now the first rotation of a third of soldiers took place in the middle of the tour. The contingent is part of NATO's Baltic Airspace Policing mission, to protect the airspace of countries which do not have their own supersonic air force. Pilots with JAS-39 Gripen serve under the NATO Integrated Air and Missile Defense System. In addition, the Danish and Belgian Air Force operating with the F-16 aircraft from the Lithuanian base of Šiauliai are also involved in the protection of Latvian, Lithuanian and Estonian airspace.

• Chief of the General Staff of the Army of the Czech Republic General Aleš Opata visited Czech soldiers in the Baltic region from 5th to 7th November: “I am glad that we work here. In all three Baltic countries we present our capabilities, synergies and modularity of units in practice. We are a credible member of NATO. Our capabilities the functionality of the Alliance principle - one for all, all for one, ”General Opata commented on the deployment of Czech soldiers in the Baltic region.

• On Friday, 8th November, representatives of the Ministry of Defence and ARGUN s.r.o. company signed a contract for the purchase of helmets for soldiers. On behalf of the Ministry of Defence the contract was signed the Deputy Minister of Defence for the management of the armaments and acquisitions Filip Říha. After this framework agreement, control and troop tests will take place. If successful, the Army will send ARGUN s.r.o. call for performance. This should take place within 150 days of signing. The financial framework of the framework agreement is CZK 435 million and its period of validity is until 30th November 2020. Stanislav Petr, director of ARGUN, assured the ministry's representative that all conditions contained in the framework agreement will be met by his company. (In September 2019 the Ministry of Defence unilaterally withdrew from the purchase contract for 14,500 helmets at the price of CZK 63 million. This was because the helmets offered by STV Group company did not pass troop tests in July for the fourth time. The company succeeded in the tender in May 2018 thanks to the lowest bid price of 7,100 CZK per piece. A price that experts pondered as unrealistic. Competitive offers ranged from 11,500-16,500 crowns.)

See also: Ballistic helmets – Czech Army to purchase 1,500 AirFrame Helmets