Prague hosted the third Czech-U.S. Defence Forum today. The meeting of Czech and U.S. defence suppliers with senior Czech defence and security officials is designed to strengthen mutual ties and map out common interests.
Deputy Minister of Defence for Industrial Cooperation, Mr. Tomáš Kopečný, is pleased with the growing success Czech businesses have achieved in anchoring themselves on the US market. “The cooperation is certainly enriching for Czech firms, considering the level of technological advancement of the U.S. industry,” Deputy Minister adds.
In the past ten years, the export of military materiel to the United Stated has increased fivefold. While in 2010, the amount of export was valued at almost Euro 12 million, it increased to 63 million by the last year.
AERO Vodochody Aerospace is experiencing a great success. The company has, among others, signed a contract with the U.S. Draken International in 2014 for the operation of five L-39 aircraft and eighteen L-159 aircraft, which are used for Aggressor Training by the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Marine Corps. The Česká Zbrojovka Group is also successful overseas; their subsidiary CZ-USA is based in Kansas and it generated profit of over 3 billion Czech korunas last year. But there are other companies, too – for example Meopta Systems, which manufactures optics for military land systems and aerospace industry, or ERA, which signed multiple contracts for the supply of passive surveillance systems in the total value exceeding USD 60 million.
Long-term intensive cooperation is also carried out between the Armed Forces of both countries. Czech and U.S. Armed Forces train together, but they deploy for foreign operations side by side – for example in the Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan, where they have fought Daesh as part of the Global Coalition.
According to Deputy Minister Kopečný, regular B2B meetings of Czech and U.S. companies are highly useful for the purpose of sharing information and establishing contacts. “In these times, cooperation with international partners on building the Armed Forces and national defence capabilities cannot be neglected. If we want to maintain a high level of technological advancement and competitiveness, we need to be able to closely cooperate in the field of security, foreign and economic policy,” he emphasizes.
The Deputy Minister also mentioned that U.S. defence systems represented an important part of the sophisticated technologies purchased by the Czech Republic. “The most visible of those acquisitions is of course the procurement of the Venom and Viper helicopters from the Bell Corporation, and I could also mention the unmanned aerial systems and radios.” He also says that there was still leeway to broaden the cooperation, including important armaments acquisitions. Deputy Minister Kopečný concluded that the participation of the Czech defence industries at such acquisitions was key.
