Prague, Aug 20 (CTK) – The Czech military plans to buy 20 new Pandur armoured vehicles for 1.27 billion crowns, the government was informed yesterday, Defence Minister Martin Stropnicky (ANO) has told journalists.
“This is one of the key priorities in arming the combat core of our army, namely its command and the battalions of the 4th rapid reaction brigade,” Stropnicky said.
The Defence Ministry will place the order for the vehicles by the end of the year and it will address the Excalibur Army arms trader, which is the exclusive importer and seller of the Pandur vehicles produced by Steyr in the Czech Republic.
The soldiers already use 107 Pandurs. Stropnicky said the military wanted to buy some 90 more in the past. He said this was not exaggerated and that the military is short of them now.
Now, the military wants to buy 14 communication and six command Pandurs.
Stropnicky said the ministry has now succeeded in negotiating a marked discount of 316 million crowns including VAT compared with the previous purchase.
The purchase of 107 Pandurs in the past was accompanied by a corruption suspicion.
($1=24.475 crowns)
