Contract for small arms for Czech army signed

Prague, Sept 10 (CTK) - The Czech Defence Ministry today signed a contract worth up to 4.26 billion crowns without VAT for deliveries of small arms with Czech arms maker Ceska zbrojovka, including the CZ BREN 2 rifles, grenade launchers and pistols with the necessary accessories, the ministry has announced on its website.

The accessories include optoelectronic sights including day and night optics and laser sights, spare parts kits, armourer kits, holsters and packaging.

The Czech government dealt with this purchase a week ago.

The contract has the form of a framework agreement for the years 2025 to 2031. The arms will thus be acquired according to the actual need and financial possibilities of the ministry.

Defence thus follows up its existing cooperation with the Ceska zbrojovka, with which it has concluded two contracts for the procurement of weapons and accessories for a total of approximately six billion crowns over the previous 15 years. These were deliveries of several tens of thousands of weapons. The soldiers thus acquired NATO calibre weaponry.

"Continued cooperation with a Czech company, which is one of the ten largest manufacturers of these weapons in the world, is a completely logical step," Defence Minister Jana Cernochova (Civic Democrats, ODS) said previously.

Deputy Chief of the General Staff Pavel Lipka said in July that the acquisition of the weapons is necessary to complete the army’s rearmament with small arms and to replace weapons whose service life will gradually come to an end.

($1 = 20.713 crowns)

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