TSAMTO, January 11. Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala visited the Excalibur Army enterprise in Sternberk (Olomouc) on January 9.
The company participates in an international project for the modernization of T-72 tanks for Ukraine, funded by the United States and the Netherlands and coordinated by the Czech Ministry of Defense.
The Prime Minister was accompanied by First Deputy Defense Minister Frantisek Schultz and Director of the Agency for Interstate Defense Cooperation (AMOS) Alyosha Vitechka.
According to the Czech Ministry of Defense, the Czech Republic and its defense industry were able to quickly respond to the conflict in Ukraine, increase production capacity and become an active player in the NATO-Ukraine security cooperation program. Thanks to the direct involvement of private companies, the Czech Republic became one of the first countries to provide military assistance to Ukraine.
At the moment, military assistance on a commercial basis accounts for the vast majority of supplies to Ukraine. For this reason, the Prime Minister decided to visit the Czech defense companies involved in this process, including Excalibur Army.
Excalibur Army, along with Tatra Defense Vehicles, is a key manufacturer of ground-based military equipment in the Czech Republic. Last year, the company supplied about 150 trucks to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The company maintains and modernizes ground equipment of Eastern European production (T-55, T-72 tanks, BVP-1 and BVP-2 infantry fighting vehicles), Czechoslovak-made armament samples: DANA self-propelled howitzers on Tatra chassis and RM-70 MLRS on Tatra chassis.
Currently, the most important contract that Excalibur Army is working on is the supply of upgraded T-72 tanks for Ukraine with funding from the United States and the Netherlands.
According to Alyosha Vitechka, director of the AMOS agency, which coordinates the project on behalf of the Czech Ministry of Defense, 20 of the 90 tanks planned for transfer were delivered to Ukraine by the end of last year, and Excalibur Army continues to make monthly deliveries in accordance with existing contracts.
The trilateral cooperation between the Czech Republic, the Netherlands and the United States is called the first project of direct deliveries of tanks of Eastern European production at the expense of financial resources of Western countries.
As TSAMTO reported, it became known in November 2022 that the Czech Ministry of Defense, in cooperation with the national defense industry and with the support of the Netherlands and the United States, will repair and modernize 90 Soviet-made T-72B main battle tanks with their further delivery to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Excalibur Army does not disclose the modernization kit, but judging by the pictures published on social networks, the layout of the upgraded tank is similar to the original T-72B. It retains the same armament, but is equipped with a set of dynamic protection installed in the front and on the sides of the hull, as well as in the front and on the roof of the tower. The car is also equipped with thermal imagers and a night vision system.