Minister of Defense Lubomir Metnar Announces Contract for the Purchase of Multi-Purpose Helicopters

(Source: Czech Ministry of Defence; issued Nov. 12, 2019)

(Unofficial translation by Defense-Aerospace.com)

Today, Minister of Defense Lubomir Metnar submitted a communication to the Government of the Czech Republic in which he informed about a public contract for the purchase of 12 multi-purpose helicopters.



The purchase will be in the form of an intergovernmental agreement with the US, through which the defense department will acquire the H-1 system, a combination of eight multipurpose helicopters UH-1Y Venom and four AH-1Z Viper attack helicopters, which share 85 percent of design parameters.



“The army needs new helicopters. The sooner end our dependence on Russian technology, the better. That is why we want to sign the contract this year, so that by 2023 the helicopters will be in service with the Army of the Czech Republic,” said Minister of Defense Metnar.



The price for helicopters is CZK 14.6 billion (approx. $629 million—Ed.) without VAT, and is in line with what the US military would pay for it. Included are not only the helicopters themselves, but also equipment and ammunition, spare parts, training simulator and initial conversion training for pilots and technical personnel.



The advantage is a form of government-government contract that guarantees security and reliability of supply. In terms of the involvement of the Czech defense industry, the Ministry of Defense expects to offset at least 30 percent of the value of the contract in favor of Czech companies.



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