Non-Subscriber ExtractCzech Army finally receives its first Pandur IIs |
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By Jiri Kominek
05 October 2009
The Army of the Czech Republic (ACR) officially took delivery of its first General Dynamics European Land Systems (GDELS) Steyr-SSF Pandur II 8x8 armoured vehicles on 30 September at the VOP-025 Novy Jicin military repair depot facility.
Senior representatives from GDELS, the ACR, the Czech government and the Czech defence industry gathered at an official handover ceremony at VOP-025, where the first 17 Pandur IIs, configured as infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) variants, were delivered for operational service.
"We have the vehicles at last," said Lieutenant General Vlastimil Picek, Chief of General Staff of the ACR, at the ceremony.
Gen Picek said the ACR had an urgent requirement for the vehicles and the first operational theatre where the vehicles will be deployed will be Afghanistan, where the ACR heads a Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in Loghar Province.
The ACR will take delivery of 107 vehicles in total valued at CZK14.4 billion (USD8.2 million).