Meeting with members of parliament (MPs) in Prague on 30 October, Czech generals revealed that 21 of the army’s 107 Pandur II armoured vehicles are inoperable because of problems with spare parts deliveries.
One quarter of the ACR's 107 Pandur II armoured vehicles are inoperable because of problems with spare parts deliveries. (ACR)
General Stefan Muransky, chief of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) support department, attributed this to problems with deliveries from Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, which take 19 months on average. The Israeli company supplies the Pandur IIʼs Remote Controlled Weapon Station (RCWS) 30 and gunsight. “We do not have enough money for Pandur II repairs, there is a long-standing shortfall,” said General Aleš Opata, chief of the general staff of the Armed Forces of the Czech Republic (ACR).
The Czech MoD is therefore preparing a new service contract worth CZK2.39 billion (USD103.5 million) with the Czechoslovak Group (CSG) covering the next four years, expected to be awarded in the next few months. CGS possesses the Pandur II Central and Eastern Europe licence from General Dynamics European Land Systems (GDELS) and its subcontractors include Rafael and Steyr. The Czech Army expects the new contract to increase its stock of Pandur II spare parts.
A Rafael spokesperson told Jane’s on 11 November, “Rafaelʼs after-sales support services are part of our sustainment strategy for all our customers worldwide. For the last year, we have been working closely with the Czech end-users, along with our Czech partners, to jointly and effectively meet sustainment requirements for the RCWS 30 fleet.”
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