On Tuesday, February 27, a delegation of the Dutch Armed Forces, led by the Chief of the General Staff, General Onno Eichelsheim, visited the Excalibur Army company in the town of Šternberk, Czechia. The visit took place within the framework of cooperation on projects to produce military equipment, which the Dutch government finances and purchases to support the defense of Ukraine. In addition to the Excalibur Army, the Dutch delegation also visited the ERA company in the city of Pardubice. The representatives of the Excalibur Army belonging to the Czechoslovak Group (CSG) welcomed in addition to General Onno Eichelsheim, the Dutch Ambassador Daan Huisinga, the Deputy Commander of the Materiel Security Command and IT Major General Ludy Schmidt or Colonel Simon Wouda, the coordinator of the Dutch military aid to Ukraine, who were accompanied by representatives of the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic headed by the director of the Agency for Intergovernmental Defence Cooperation Aleš Vyte?ka. Representatives of the Dutch media also came with the delegation to Excalibur Army.
The Dutch delegation got to know the history and the present of the Czech company and toured the production halls of the company where T-72EA tanks are modernized and DITA howitzers are manufactured for the Ukrainian army. The T-72EA tank represents the modernization of the proven tank design and has already proven itself on the Ukrainian battlefield. The DITA howitzer is a modern digitized system that was created in the company’s development center and is designed to meet NATO standards and the requirements of the modern battlefield. The guests were also able to get acquainted with other latest equipment from the Excalibur Army portfolio, such as the Morana 155 mm NATO artillery system or the TREVA-30 rescue and evacuation vehicle or the Triton 4×4 armored firefighting special vehicle, which, like DITA, are built on the Tatra chassis.
T-72EA main battle tank. (Photo by CSG)
Excalibur Army focuses on the development, production repair, and modernization of heavy land military vehicles and has been operating in this field for several decades. Since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine, in cooperation with the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic and foreign partners, it has been providing the necessary equipment. “Among our main partners is the Netherlands, which participates financially in several projects. This is mainly about the supply of dozens of modernized T-72EA tanks, as well as the production of dozens of MR-2 Viktor anti-drone systems or, most recently, the supply of modern DITA 155 mm NATO wheeled self-propelled howitzers,” said Pavel Doško, director of business and product development of CSG Land Systems.
Excalibur Army belonging to the CSG company is a Czech manufacturer and seller of heavy military vehicles, spare parts, weapons, ammunition, and other military equipment. It focuses on the development and production of modern armored and special vehicles, as well as the service and modernization of military equipment. The company has customers all over the world and cooperates with renowned global producers of security technologies. The global industrial technological CSG group, owned by Czech businessman Michal Strnad, has key production facilities in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Spain, Italy, India, Great Britain, and the USA and exports its products all over the world. CSG consistently invests in the development of its companies and at the same time expands in the main areas of its business. The group includes, for example, the Czech automobile company Tatra Trucks, the important world manufacturer of small-caliber ammunition Fiocchi, and the Czech radar manufacturer Eldis. More than 10,000 employees work in companies included in the CSG group and connected companies. CSG’s main branches are engineering, automotive, railway, aerospace, defense industry and ammunition production.
