Czech Republic, Romania order new armored personnel carriers

WARSAW, Poland — As Eastern European allies intensify efforts to modernize the armored personnel carrier (APC) fleets of their land forces, the Czech Republic has ordered new Pandur II eight-wheel drive vehicles from Tatra Defence Vehicle, and Romania has awarded a deal for additional Piranha III eight-wheel drive APCs to General Dynamics European Land Systems (GDELS).

Prague will obtain 20 Pandurs under a deal worth about 2.07 billion koruna (US $82.2 million), the Czech Ministry of Defence said in a statement. 

"The vehicles are required to allow the Czech Armed Forces to perform their tasks in the Czech Republic and abroad," the statement said.

Tatra Defence Vehicle produces the Pandur under a licence from GDELS. The APCs will belong to the military's 4th Rapid Reaction Brigade, and they are designed to improve the military's command and communication capability, according to senior Defence Ministry officials.

Romania has ordered an undisclosed amount of the Piranhas, which have been operated by the country's armed forces since 2006.

"The vehicle supply contract, signed on December 30, 2016, is part of the Romanian Army's plan to modernize its legacy wheeled armored vehicle fleet," GDELS said in a Jan. 26 statement.

Based in Madrid, Spain, GDELS is a European subsidiary of General Dynamics and operates five production facilities located in Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Spain and Switzerland. The manufacturer says its European plants are operated by more than 1,870 employees.