The Czech Republic has ordered 10 more Caesar self-propelled howitzers from French defense company Nexter Systems. On December 14, Czech defense ministry representatives signed a contract modification with the vice president of the French company Nexter Systems, which is supplying the howitzers. The value of the additional order is 1.77 billion Czech koruna ($77 million), bringing the total value of the Caesar purchase to CZK 10.3 billion ($437 million). The ammunition for the Caesar howitzers would be supplied under a separate contract by Czech company STV Group. The agreement also included “tens of thousands” of cartridges for the artillery system.
“By purchasing these guns, we are taking another step towards the much-needed modernization of our military and reducing the internal debt we still have with the military. I am very happy that by concluding the contract modification, we also managed to reserve capacity for the Czech Republic in production lines that are hopelessly busy for the next few years due to the war in Ukraine,” said defense minister Jana ?ernochová at the signing of the agreement.
The CAESAR self-propelled howitzers to be delivered to the army by the end of 2026, replacing the self-propelled howitzers which have been in service for more than forty years. The DANA was designed by Konštrukta Tren?ín and built by ZTS Dubnica nad Váhom in the former Czechoslovakia (now Slovakia). Introduced in the 1970s, it was the first wheeled 152 mm self-propelled artillery gun to enter service. The Dana howitzers use the NATO-incompatible 152 mm caliber and at 20 kilometers, have only half the range of the Caesar, whose guns gun can reach targets at distances of up to 40 km or targets over 55 kilometres (34 mi) away using rocket assisted or smart ammunition.
In June 2020, the CAESAR 8×8 won a €200 million contract for the Czech Army. The CAESAR (CAmion Équipé d’un Système d’ARtillerie, Truck equipped with an artillery system) is a French 155 mm, 52-calibre self-propelled howitzer installed on a 6×6 or 8×8 truck chassis that can fire all 39/52 caliber NATO-standard shells.The Army decided to buy 52 howitzers that will be installed on the Czech Tatra 815–7T3RC1 8×8. Equipped with an autonomous weapon network incorporating an inertial navigation system and ballistic computer, the CAESAR can notably accurately strike targets.
