The Czech Army selects Nexter’s Caesar to replace the Dana

Source Czech Ministry of Defence

Today, during his visit to the 13th Artillery Regiment in Jince, Lubomír Metnar confirmed that the ministry intends to buy Caesar self-propelled guns from the French company Nexter (In the photo a Danish Caesar). The contract for 52 such guns could be signed by the end of the year, the contract including at least 40 percent involvement of domestic industry.

After inspecting the base and the equipment used by the soldiers, the Minister made no secret of the fact that part of the military equipment is really obsolete. According to his words, artillerymen work in the 70s or 80s.

“Soldiers can look forward to new weapons. Our army needs new guns, it is one of the four current strategic modernization projects. The DANA howitzers are 40 years old, half the range of the Alliance’s standards and half of them are unavailable at the moment, “said the Minister of Defense in his speach.

According to Lubomír Metnar, market research and feasibility studies have assessed in detail a total of eight modern systems from various manufacturers. “Based on the results, military experts clearly prefer the acquisition of 52 Caesar self-propelled guns from the French manufacturer Nexter. The Ministry therefore decided to start negotiations with the manufacturer so that the contract could be concluded later this year. “

The Chief of the General Staff of the Czech Armed Forces, Army General Aleš Opata, said that the Caesar guns were among the most modern in the world. According to him, the most important parameters assessed included the range, which is 55 km with special ammunition and 42 km with standard ammunition. Furthermore, the rate of fire, which will be several times higher than the currently used systems, as well as the chassis used. Caesar will be installed on a Tatra 8×8 chassis, which will be manufactured by the Czech company Tatra Trucks.

“In the wars of the twenty-first century, the one who has better information, shoots further and sees more is the one who wins. This is exactly what this new artillery technology clearly fulfills,” General Abbot said, adding that the new guns should serve in the army for another thirty years.

During the visit, the Minister of Defense Lubomír Metnar, the Chief of the General Staff of the Czech Armed Forces, Army General Aleš Opata, also paid tribute to the commander of the Artillery Reconnaissance Team Marian Mutl, who died during training in September 2013.

Unofficial translation by EDR On-Line

Photo by Paolo Valpolini

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