Czech Defence News of the Week (21st June – 3rd July 2019)

Caption: TITUS at IDET 2019

Fifty thousand visitors came to the 30th year of Land Forces Day – Bahna 2019. - Contract for the supply of 62 TITUS 6x6 wheeled armoured vehicles signed, deliveries will start in 2022. - Minister of Defence Lubomír Metnar has officially received two offers for supply of 12 multi-purpose helicopters from the US government. - The Czech Air Advisory Team in the Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq ended its operations at Balad Air Force Base after three years.

• Fifty thousand visitors came to the 30^th year of Land Forces Day – Bahna 2019, which was held on 22^nd June in the area of ​​Zadní Bahna near Rokycany, in Western Bohemia, in the former Brdy military area. The event presented historical and contemporary army vehicles and equipment, dynamic and combat demonstrations of tracked and wheeled vehicles of the Czech Army,  and a military-history re-enactment German attack on Poland in 1939 and the fighting at Dukla in 1944 (at Dukla the Czechoslovak Army Corps entered the territory of occupied Czechoslovakia for the first time). The event was attended also by allied armies, Czech Air Force, Support Division of the Ministry of Defence (responsible for concept, control, professional and methodical management of the logistics, communication and information systems, and military medical service), Military Police, Police of the Czech Republic, Fire Rescue Service, Prison Service, Museum on the Demarcation Line in Rokycany, Czechoslovak Legionary Community and many military history (re-enactment) clubs.

See also: The Czech Land Forces Day – Bahna 2019

• On Friday 21^st June, acting Deputy Minister of Defence, head of the  Armaments and Acquisition Division of the MoD, Filip Říha and Milan Stupka, Managing Director of Eldis Pardubice, Ltd., signed the contract for the supply of 62 TITUS (Tactical Infantry Transport and Utility System) 6x6 wheeled armoured vehicles. The army will get 42 Command Post Vehicles and Communications Vehicles and 20 artillery fire support coordination vehicles, including logistic support and training. The value of the contract is CZK 6,072 billion (USD 269.5 million). The vehicles are to be delivered in 2022-23.

See also: Czech Army’s Modernization Projects: Wheeled Command Post Vehicles

• On 24^th June, Minister of Defence Lubomír Metnar has officially received two offers for supply of 12 multi-purpose helicopters from the US government from Ambassador Stephen B. King.

The US has submitted the following two bids:

12 UH-60M Black Hawk utility helicopters at USD 589.9 million (CZK 13.2 billion; US Congress approved initially the total price of USD 800 million);

8 UH-1Y Venom utility helicopters plus 4 AH-1Z Viper attack helicopters at USD 645.9 million (CZK 14.5 billion; US Congress approved initially the total price of USD 780 million).

See also: Multipurpose Helicopters - Dramatic difference of price between Italian and American solutions

• The Czech Air Advisory Team in the Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq ended its operations at Balad Air Force Base after three years. The last group of members of the 7th Team returned to the Czech Republic after six months on Saturday, 29^th June, and were welcomed by Colonel of the General Staff Josef Nejedlý, representing the Joint Operations Center of the Ministry of Defence,  and Colonel of the General Staff Petr Tománek, commander of the 21^st Tactical Air Force Base. The main task of the Team was advisory and mentoring activities during operational training of Iraqi Air Force's air and ground personnel over flying and maintenance of L-159 ALCA light attack aircraft which were supplied by the Czech Republic.