Czech Army Plans Pandur APC Order

The Czech Ministry of Defense aims to order 20 Pandur II 8x8 armored personnel carriers (APCs) from General Dynamics European Land Systems. The deal is expected to be awarded in July, Czech Deputy Defense Minister Jiri Borovec said.

The new APCs will improve the military's command and communication capability, Borovec told local news agency CTK.

"The [supplied] vehicle should not differ significantly from the rest [of the Czech APCs]. And not only visually, but also in terms of their tactical-technical specification," said Gen. Petr Pavel, the chief of the General Staff of the Czech Armed Forces.

The Pandurs will belong to the military's 4th Rapid Reaction Brigade.

The planned contract will expand the APC fleet operated by the Czech Army. In March 2009, the country's government approved the purchase of 107 Pandur II vehicles for 14.4 billion crowns (US $609 million). The APCs were designed to replace the Czech military's outdated OT-64 armored vehicles, which were jointly developed by then-communist Poland and Czechoslovakia in the 1960s.

The Defense Ministry did not disclose amount of the planned deal.

Based in Madrid, General Dynamics European Land Systems is a subsidiary of US company General Dynamics, and operates units in Spain, Germany, Austria and Switzerland.a