On Saturday, January 18, 2025, the Czech daily Novinky.cz reported that the Department of Armament and Procurement of the Ministry of Defense of the Czech Republic had sent requests for proposals to leading European and American manufacturers for new wheeled infantry fighting vehicles to replace the problematic Pandur II CZ M1 8×8.
Photos: Ministry of Defense of the Czech Republic
The spokesperson for the Czech Ministry of Defense, Simona Cigánková, informed the newspaper that the Ministry of Defense is conducting an analysis of future needs in the field of wheeled armored vehicles, taking into account the evolving security environment and operational requirements.
Meanwhile, the spokesperson for the General Staff of the Czech Armed Forces, Col. Magdalena Dvořáková, explained that the military seeks a change because battlefield observations in Ukraine show that older armored personnel carriers struggle to withstand FPV drone attacks. “New requirements include, for example, a higher level of autonomous protection systems capable of countering both kinetic and non-kinetic enemy actions, such as assault drones,” said Dvořáková. The requirements also include enhanced ballistic and mine protection levels.
According to the newspaper, among the bidders and platforms that the Prague government is interested in are:
- The consortium of Tatra Defense Vehicle and Czechoslovak Group with the Pandur EVO 8×8 (although it is manufactured by General Dynamics European Land Systems – editor’s note);
- The consortium of STV Group and Patria Oyj with the AMV XP;
- General Dynamics European Land Systems with the Piranha V 8×8;
- General Dynamics Land Systems with the ICV Stryker 8×8;
- The consortium of Rheinmetall AG and KNDS Deutschland (as part of ARTEC) with the GTK Boxer 8×8.
The Czech Armed Forces (Armáda České republiky, AČR) first reported issues with the Pandur II CZ M1 8×8 infantry fighting vehicles on October 30, 2019. At that time, parliamentarians were informed that 21 out of 72 combat vehicles equipped with Israeli Rafael Advanced Defense Systems RCWS-30 unmanned turrets were non-operational due to delays in spare parts deliveries. In total, the Czech military also operates 55 specialized variants. The first batch of 107 vehicles was ordered in 2009, followed by an additional 20 command variants in 2017. The initial requirement was estimated at 200 units, but budget constraints prevented a larger procurement.
On September 25, 2020, it was announced that Tatra Defence Vehicle would carry out overhaul inspections of the fleet under a 2.3 billion CZK contract (equivalent to 386 million PLN at the time). The work was completed in 2023. Meanwhile, in 2022, Czechoslovak Group submitted an offer for a comprehensive vehicle modernization program, valued at 136 million CZK (22.957 million PLN) per vehicle. The Ministry of Defense had been interested in pursuing these upgrades and purchasing additional vehicles up until the spring of last year. However, it has now changed its stance.
