The Czech Defence Ministry is preparing a draft contract for the purchase of four Iveco MLV light APCs that should be supplied to the Czech military by the end of the year for use in Afghanistan.

The Czech Defence Ministry is preparing a draft contract for the purchase of four light APCs Iveco that should be supplied to the Czech military by the end of the year and could start to be used by the Czech military police contingent in Afghanistan by next March, Jan Pejsek said. Pejsek, the ministry's press department official, said that after their equipment and testing are completed, the APCs would be deployed in the Afghan province of Hilmand where the Czech military police's special unit operates.

The supply's price reaches 100 million crowns, Pejsek said. ($1=18.197 crowns). The media previously said that Iveco had been chosen as the supplier without any tender. The ministry said the main criterion in the choice was the speed of the supply and the ballistic protection of Czech soldiers in foreign missions.

Pejsek said that the Czechs will also be able to use the British logistic equipment. "The identical type of vehicle is used in Hilmand by the British under whose command the Czech military police officers operate," he added. He said two of the planned Iveco APCs will be supplied in a combat version and two will be designed for transfer of people.

According to the media information, the Czech military has also decided on the purchase of another four APCs. The server Euro Online said earlier that the relevant tender's winner is the Czech-based ZVI arms maker with the German vehicle Dingo 2. The ministry reportedly plans to spend up to 120 million crowns from the Dingos, i.e. two times the usual price. Euro Online wrote that the ministry decided on the Dingo 2 deal without disclosing the conditions of the relevant tender. Besides, the Americans seem to have offered help to Czechs and lend them over 20 Humvee vehicles designed for operation in Iraq or Afghanistan, the media have written.

The ministry says the planned purchase of eight light APCs will meet only the most urgent need. In the future, it will be necessary to buy tens of light APCs, for which public tenders will be launched, the ministry says. Apart from the light APCs, the Czech military has bought 199 heavy APCs Pandurs worth more than 23 billion crowns from the Austrian company Steyr, which is one of the biggest orders in the Czech military's history. The supply of the first Pandurs, however, has been delayed as they have fared poorly in recent tests and the producer is expected to remove a number of shortcomings.

report courtesy of České Noviny