Defence & Space

Rheinmetall wins major order for artillery ammunition

Rheinmetall Denel Munition wins major 155mm ammunition contract. Order worth several hundred million euros, deliveries from 2025 until 2027. It…

2025-07-04 | Redakcja | 3 minutes

A contractor has been selected for the repair of Mk 75 guns on Polish OHP frigates

The Gdynia Naval Port Command has published information on the outcome of the tender procedure for the repair of two…

2025-07-02 | Rafał Muczyński | 3 minutes

SIPRI: Nuclear risks grow as new arms race looms

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute published a report entitled SIPRI Yearbook 2025, which, among other things, discusses the issue of…

2025-06-16 | Redakcja | 10 minutes

Polish 35 mm SA-35 Self-Propelled Anti-Aircraft Gun with PIT-Radwar

During the recent MSPO trade fair in Kielce, the company PIT-Radwar presented its proposal for a 35 mm self-propelled anti-aircraft gun…

2025-06-13 | Przemysław Gurgurewicz | 13 minutes

Rheinmetall wins major order for artillery ammunition

Rheinmetall Denel Munition wins major 155mm ammunition contract. Order worth several hundred million euros, deliveries from 2025 until 2027. It…

2025-07-04 | Redakcja | 3 minutes

A contractor has been selected for the repair of Mk 75 guns on Polish OHP frigates

The Gdynia Naval Port Command has published information on the outcome of the tender procedure for the repair of two…

2025-07-02 | Rafał Muczyński | 3 minutes

SKW Cryptographic Security Certificate for Polish Comp@n Radio Set from the WB Group

The WB Group announced that the Comp@n system radio set, developed by its subsidiary Radmor, along with the Cryptographic Document Management…

2025-06-14 | Redakcja | 4 minutes

Advancing multi-domain EW operations: Rohde & Schwarz unveils latest innovations at AOC Europe

Rohde & Schwarz demonstrates the next generation of SIGINT/EW systems, sensor fusion and signal analysis solutions, designed to meet the evolving…

2025-05-12 | Redakcja | 2 minutes

Autonomous and Unmanned Systems by Łukasiewicz – PIAP at the OPEX 2025 Training Ground in Italy

During the HEDI OPEX 2025 experimental campaign at the CEPOLISPE training ground in Italy, the Łukasiewicz Research Network – Industrial…

2025-06-28 | Redakcja | 4 minutes

Paris Air Show 2025: Debut of Foudre – the French HIMARS

As previously announced by Turgis & Gaillard, the 55th International Paris Air and Space Show served as the venue for the…

2025-06-23 | Radosław Niesobski | 2 minutes

Rheinmetall wins major order for artillery ammunition

Rheinmetall Denel Munition wins major 155mm ammunition contract. Order worth several hundred million euros, deliveries from 2025 until 2027. It…

2025-07-04 | Redakcja | 3 minutes

Polish Ministry of National Defence: New Contract for K2 Tanks and Support Vehicles Imminent

In Warsaw, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defence Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, along with Secretary of State at the Ministry…

2025-07-02 | Redakcja | 10 minutes

Bayraktar TB2 and FlyEye Drones to Support Polish Police Manhunt for Killer Near Limanowa

The Bayraktar TB2 drone and FlyEye systems will support the Polish police in the search for 57-year-old Tadeusz Duda, suspected…

2025-06-30 | Rafał Muczyński | 5 minutes

Galvion’s European Production Hub in Poland is formally opened by the Ambassador of Canada tothe Republic of Poland

Canadian company Galvion announced that the Canadian Ambassador to Poland, Catherine Godin, officially opened the European Production Hub in Gdańsk.

2025-06-26 | Redakcja | 4 minutes

Rheinmetall wins major order for artillery ammunition

Rheinmetall Denel Munition wins major 155mm ammunition contract. Order worth several hundred million euros, deliveries from 2025 until 2027. It…

2025-07-04 | Redakcja | 3 minutes

A contractor has been selected for the repair of Mk 75 guns on Polish OHP frigates

The Gdynia Naval Port Command has published information on the outcome of the tender procedure for the repair of two…

2025-07-02 | Rafał Muczyński | 3 minutes

East Shield and the Baltic Defense Line: Cooperation and Investment in Defense Are the Cornerstone of Europe’s Security

East Shield, the Baltic Defense Line, the integration of available deterrence and defense capabilities, and EU defense funding were the…

2025-07-02 | Redakcja | 2 minutes

Russia Loses World’s Largest Helicopter, Mi-26, in Ukrainian Attack on Crimea

The Security Service of Ukraine reported that during a special operation at the Kirovske military airfield in occupied Crimea, a Pantsir-S1 air…

2025-06-29 | Rafał Muczyński | 4 minutes

Finland Ministry of Defense selects ICEYE for space-based intelligence and surveillance capabilities

The Polish-Finnish company ICEYE and the Finnish Ministry of Defense have signed a Letter of Intent that enables the Finnish Defense…

2025-06-27 | Redakcja | 3 minutes

Axiom Mission 4: The Historic Spaceflight of Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski

June 25, 2025, will go down in history as the day when the second Pole in our history flew into…

2025-06-25 | Rafał Muczyński | 5 minutes
Shooting

CZ Shooting Team athletes take home 13 medals from the CZ Extreme Euro Open

Sport shooters representing Ceska zbrojovka brought back six gold, four silver, and three bronze medals from Hodonice, along with four…

2025-07-04 | Redakcja | 4 minutes

Upgraded Z8i Scope from SWAROVSKI OPTIK

Swarovski Optik, the Austrian optics manufacturer with nearly 80 years of tradition, has unveiled an upgraded version of its Z8i…

2025-07-03 | Mariusz Piwowar | 3 minutes

Upgraded Z8i Scope from SWAROVSKI OPTIK

Swarovski Optik, the Austrian optics manufacturer with nearly 80 years of tradition, has unveiled an upgraded version of its Z8i…

2025-07-03 | Mariusz Piwowar | 3 minutes

Streamlight introduces the SL-SideSaddle

Streamlight, Inc., a leading provider of high-performance lighting tools, announces the SL-SideSaddle series, a new hands-free lighting solution built for outdoor adventure…

2025-07-01 | Redakcja | 3 minutes

IFRE 2025: Maskpol Showcases Protective Suits and Gas Masks

Maskpol, a company within the Polish Armaments Group (PGZ), presented part of its product range—protective suits and gas masks—at the 5th…

2025-06-17 | Michał Ihnatów | 2 minutes

UF PRO Introduces Waist/Flex Belts to Its Product Line

UF PRO, a Slovenian manufacturer of professional apparel and part of the Mehler Systems group, is adding a new accessory to its lineup…

2025-06-06 | Michał Ihnatów | 2 minutes

CZ Shooting Team athletes take home 13 medals from the CZ Extreme Euro Open

Sport shooters representing Ceska zbrojovka brought back six gold, four silver, and three bronze medals from Hodonice, along with four…

2025-07-04 | Redakcja | 4 minutes

Enforce Tac 2025 starts on February 24th

Enforce Tac is an international trade fair aimed at law enforcement officers, experts from government agencies, and representatives of the…

2025-01-30 | Michał Ihnatów | 4 minutes

CZ Introduces the New CZ P-10 C PORTED Model

CZ P-10 C PORTED – a compact pistol with tamed recoil thanks to an integrated compensator.

2025-07-02 | Redakcja | 3 minutes

Meprolight MMX3 and MMX4 – Lightweight Magnifiers with Quality Optics

The Mepro MMX3 and MMX4, a new line of compact magnifiers from the Israeli manufacturer. How do they perform in practice and…

2025-06-27 | Krzysztof Ptak | 8 minutes

Paris Air Show 2025: Bayraktar TB3 Debuts

The 55th edition of the International Paris Air and Space Show, held in the French capital, provided an opportunity for…

2025-06-19 | Radosław Niesobski | 3 minutes

Setting Up a Shooting Belt: An Example with Clawgear

To assist with shooting training and beyond, various belts and gear configurations have been developed and customized to suit individual needs. It’s…

2024-11-28 | Łukasz Kołodziejski | 14 minutes

Over 100% increase in gun permits in Poland in 2024

The Polish Police have released statistical data on firearm permits issued in 2024. An increasing number of Poles now hold…

2025-02-20 | Michał Ihnatów | 5 minutes

Firearms In Poland 2023: Number of permits continues to grow

The National Police Headquarters has released statistics regarding the number of firearm permits and firearms themselves in the hands of…

2024-02-17 | Michał Ihnatów | 5 minutes

5 Best Value ATN Rifle Scopes Under €1500

ATN is a leading manufacturer of daytime optics, smart night vision, and thermal vision technology. The innovative features and ergonomic designs…

2022-11-11 | Redakcja | 8 minutes

MILMAG Visits Grand Power

Grand Power is a Slovak manufacturer of the acknowledged good quality firearms. Take part in our guided tour with English subtitles.

2022-05-23 | Redakcja | 1 minutes

Meprolight MMX3 and MMX4 – Lightweight Magnifiers with Quality Optics

The Mepro MMX3 and MMX4, a new line of compact magnifiers from the Israeli manufacturer. How do they perform in practice and…

2025-06-27 | Krzysztof Ptak | 8 minutes

Streamlight TLR-7 HL-X – a Bayonet of Light for Your Weapon

The devil’s not so scary once you shine a light on him—and he’s certainly easier to neutralize in the spotlight. A weapon-mounted flashlight…

2025-06-09 | Anna Mielczarek | 6 minutes

EOTECH Holographic Sight – History, Technology, Practice

The holographic sight is a device known for nearly 30 years and used by professionals around the world. A favorite sight of many…

2024-09-02 | Michał Gaweł | 12 minutes

Has the Czech IFV programme just reached a dead-end?

In the face of an unprecedented economic crisis, which shortly might follow the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Czech Ministry of Defense (MoD) has found itself in a difficult situation, when it has to reevaluate its investment plans, putting a hold to or definitely cancelling a number of procurement and modernization programmes. One of the projects, which might be affected by the expected spending cuts is the long awaited acquisition of 210 tracked infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs).

It was in mid-March, when the Czech Prime Minister, Andrej Babiš, announced that due to the COVID-19 pandemic his country might be forced to revise a number of investments, including a series of technical modernization programmes of the country’s armed forces.

‘The army can wait. We probably do not need infantry fighting vehicles immediately, but we need other things for this coronavirus war’, Babiš said during a press conference held in March.

As the country faces mass economic shakedown in result of the pandemic, the Czech government will have to make some tough choices and decide to cut down federal spending and investments. As usual, military modernization programmes might become one of the first to be affected by the new saving policy.

It seems quite probable, that the long awaited and highly anticipated procurement of 210 modern, tracked infantry fighting vehicles (IFV) might become one of the first programmes to be slashed. New IFVs were to replace the currently operated, legacy BVP-2s, which due to their obsolescence and technical condition do not meet the requirements of the modern battlefield.

The procurement of new IFVs is described by the Czech government as one of the most important technical modernization programmes in the recent history of the Czech armed forces. It has an estimated value of CZK53 billion (€2 billion). The project is an important element of a more profound plan to enhance operational and combat capabilities of the Czech Army and Air Force, making it capable of acting as an important deterrence on NATO’s Eastern flank.

Three bids received

In mid-October 2019 the Czech MoD announced that three companies decided to submit initial bids in the tender for new IFVs. The list of bidders included: BAE Systems Haegglund AB with its CV90 Mk IV vehicle, GDELS – Santa Barbara Sistemas SA offering the ASCOD 2 platform and Rheinmetall Landsysteme GmbH with KF41 Lynx.

GDELS, a major European manufacturer of armoured vehicles, decided to offer its ASCOD 2 vehicle in the Czech IFV tender, as the platform has already been selected by the armed forces of Austria, Great Britain and Spain in their Ulan, Ajax and Pizarro programs.

According to GDELS, the ASCOD 2 offered for the Czech Republic was customized to meet the requirements of the Czech armed forces. It was achieved by modification of ASCOD’s design and enhancement of its operational capabilities.

The ASCOD 2 platform was presented during IDET 2019 exhibition in Brno. The vehicle on the stand was showcased with an unmanned UT30MK2 turret from Israeli Elbit Systems. According to the manufacturer, the same vehicle could be easily integrated with a manned MT30 system, if the Czech Army had such requirements.

The single manufacturer which decided not to make a bid in the ongoing tender was Projekt System & Management GmbH (PSM), a joint-venture between Rheinmetall Landsysteme and Krauss-Maffei Wegmann. Initially, the company planned to offer its Puma IFV, which is already operated by the German land forces. Presumably, PSM decided to drop from the race due to the fact that the Puma vehicle did not meet a number of technical requirements set by the Czech MoD for the IFV programme.

According to the program’s original schedule, for the next couple of weeks or months the Czech MoD would engage in discussions with selected bidders in order to help them to improve their offers. Subsequently, both sides of the tender would enter negotiations about vehicle’s price and delivery timeline, which would lead to the final selection and contract signing. However, under current circumstances, this plan might not be able to succeed

The German Rheinmetall Landsysteme GmbH has offered the Czech Republic its KF41 Lynx platform in the ongoing IFV tender. The company agreed to move the production of new armoured vehicles to the Czech Republic under the Transfer-of-Technology agreement / Picture: Remigiusz Wilk, MM MILMAG

BAE Systems Haegglund AB has been actively promoting its family of CV90 armoured vehicles on the Czech market for many years. The picture presents one of the Dutch CV90s during NATO Days 2019 held in Ostrava / Picture: Michał Jarocki, MM MILMAG

GDELS offers its ASCOD 2 armoured vehicle, which has already been selected by the armed forces of Austria, Great Britain and Spain in their Ulan, Ajax and Pizarro programs. The vehicle on the picture, taken during IDET 2019 exhibition in Brno, is fitted with an unmanned UT30MK2 turret from Israeli Elbit Systems / Picture: Remigiusz Wilk, MM MILMAG

New IFVs are an absolute must

The number of new IFV’s, which the Czech MoD intends to procure, simply refers to the country’s long-term plan for development of the Czech armed forces (KVAČR 2025), as well as commitments to international alliances, such as NATO. Under the KVAČR project the Czech armed forces are obligated to deploy a heavy brigade unit capable of operating on the modern battlefield and confronting similarly equipped enemy forces in defensive operations.

Such a brigade would have to be composed of three mechanized battalions and a tank battalion, as well as combat support, combat security and training units. Each of mechanized battalions could be equipped with 56 armoured combat vehicles in 7 different variants, such as: IFV, reconnaissance, observation, mine clearance, armoured recovery, command and medical evacuation. The future ‘heavy brigade’, equipped with new IFVs, would evolve from the structure of the current 7th Mechanized Brigade.

The single manufacturer, which decided not to make a bid in the ongoing tender, was the Projekt System & Management GmbH. The manufacturer planned to offer its Puma IFV. Presumably, PSM decided to drop from the race due to the fact that the Puma vehicle did not meet a number of technical requirements set by the Czech MoD for the IFV programme / Picture: Remigiusz Wilk, MM MILMAG

To protect and to withstand

According to the Czech MoD, new IFVs should provide the highest possible level of protection for crews and dismounts, something the currently operated BVP-2s aren’t capable of. Therefore, new armoured combat vehicles are expected to feature a basic level of protection according to STANAG 4569, as well as a number of supplementary protection systems, such as additional modular ballistic panels (according to STANAG 4569), soft-kill and hard-kill self-defense systems, counter-IED protection system, disruption of radio-frequency signals activating IEDs and collective automated CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear) protection.

The Czech Army has a requirement that the future IFVs will be able to complement 11 soldiers, including a crew of 3 + 8 dismounts. Vehicles should be equipped with a manned turret with a 30mm main gun, a coaxial 7.62mm machine gun, as well as an anti-tank missile system with a 3rd generation (or higher) ATGM. Supplementary equipment should include smoke grenade launchers, providing 360° coverage.

Highly efficient observation systems for the gunner and commander, such as day/night cameras and a laser range finder, should provide detection and identification of enemy’s MBTs and other armoured combat vehicles at distances of 4 km by day and 3,5 km by night.

All IFV variants should feature the same high level of mobility, including minimum road speed of 65 km/h, minimum off-road speed of 40 km/h, minimum range of 500 km. They should also receive a number of supplementary equipment, such as intercom, VHF/UHF radio stations for voice and data communication as well as GPS, TACSAT and covert communication systems

Local defense industry at stake

The possible delay or even cancellation of the IFV programme would not only mean, that the anticipated technical modernization of the Czech land forces would be prolonged for even years. It could also have a devastating influence on the condition of the local defense industry, which was expected  to play a significant role in the project and benefit from the production of new armoured vehicles. The Czech government had a strict requirement that the future IFVs would be manufactured locally, with the biggest possible involvement of the Czech companies.

All three bidders have already declared, that they are ready to move the production of new IFVs directly to the Czech Republic under the Transfer-of-Technology agreement. A number of partnership agreements were also signed with local defense manufacturers.

It was also expected that a number of Czech defense companies would become partners in global production and supply chains of BAE Systems, GDELS or Rheinmetall, allowing them to promote their product and services on export markets.

The new Czech IFVs were to replace the currently operated, legacy BVP-2s, which due to their obsolescence and technical condition do not meet the requirements of the modern battlefield / Picture: The Czech MoD

Article previously published on MILMAG 01/2020

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