16.6.2022
Minister Černochová visited helicopter base in Náměšť and arms industries in the Zlín region
On Friday June 10, 2022 Defence Minister Jana Černochová visited pilots and personnel of the 22nd Helicopter Air Force Base in Náměšť nad Oslavou and defence industries in the Zlín Region.
Minister Černochová received a briefing in Náměšť on the current tasks, capabilities and equipment of the only helicopter base of the Czech Armed Forces. The Náměšť airmen have the Mi-171Sh helicopters and Mi-24/35 gunships in their inventory and have participated, besides national airspace defence and close air support missions, in the ISAF mission in Afghanistan.
By the end of the next year, the obsolete Soviet Mi family of helicopters will be replaced by new UH-1Y Venom utility helicopters and AH-1Z Viper attack helicopters from the USA. However, according to the Minister of Defence, the twelve units of both types are not sufficient: “We would like to have more than 12 helicopters in the future, ideally 24. With the tasks the Czech Republic needs to fulfil, 12 is unfortunately not enough. The war in Ukraine clearly showed that close air support is vital in a conventional conflict.” The Minister further added that together with the Náměšť HAFB commanders they agreed on a creation of a concept to determine the direction of the development of helicopter air force units.
Established by the Ministry of Defence, LOM Praha state enterprise plays an important role in the acquisition of multirole helicopters. “We will provide life cycle support in the brand new H1 helicopter facility in Náměšť nad Oslavou. A simulation centre will also be built for the training of ground and air personnel for new aircraft,” says LOM Praha CEO Jiří Protiva. Both centres started recruiting personnel at the beginning of this year. According to the Minister, the centres will offer jobs to dozens of experts and specialists.
The Ministry of Defence supports the Czech defence industry
The support of the local defence industry is one of the Minister’s priorities, which is why she visited four important Zlín Region based companies during her trip on Friday: LET Kunovice – Aircraft Industries, COLT CZ Group, MESIT holding and EVPÚ Defence.
Minister Černochová says that the importance of local defence industry increases in times of crisis, as has been proven by the conflict in Ukraine. “In times of crisis, the Czech Republic might have to rely on its own production capabilities as those of our closest allies might be limited or entirely unavailable,” says the Minister. She emphasized that nations seeking to acquire military equipment to step up their defence posture now have to queue up.
The Minister of Defence tries to support the defence industry as much as possible. In important acquisition projects, for example, an involvement of domestic businesses is demanded in the value of tens of percent of the project price. “Our companies currently participate in the project of acquisition of U.S. Venom and Viper helicopters, Israeli air defence systems SPYDER and French CAESAR canons. This support provides employment for Czech workers and benefits the Czech economy,” says the Minister.
Aircraft Industries in Czech hands once again, their L-410 heading to the Philippines with the help of AMOS
In May, the Czech Omnipol company acquired former LET Kunovice, now Aircraft Industries, from a Russian owner. The manufacturer of L-410, also used by the Czech Armed Forces, thus returned to Czech owners, which will enable to provide stability of supply and to keep the know-how in the Czech Republic.
Under the previous owner, the company was strongly oriented towards the Russian market, which shut down due to the sanctions linked to the war in Ukraine. The company now needs to find new customers, aided by the MoD Intergovernmental Defence Cooperation Agency – the AMOS.
“The L-410 traditional manufacturer is one of our priority partners. We are currently finalizing the support of sale of this aircraft to the Philippine Coast Guard. Other regions discussed by AMOS and Aircraft Industries / Omnipol are Kazakhstan, Vietnam, Iraq and Columbia,” says the AMOS Director Aleš Vytečka.
CZ Group success overseas
The Minister of Defence sees the acquisition of the Colt company by the CZ Group as one of the biggest successes of the Czech defence industry. “Colt CZ Group is now one of the Ministry’s key partners for national defence. The BREN 2 assault rifle and the P-10 pistol were selected to be introduced into the Czech Armed Forces,” the Minister said during her visit. She was also shown all handguns currently offered by the company. She emphasized that Aircraft Industries and Colt CZ Group employ over 2,500 people between themselves.
The penultimate stop was the MESIT holding company based in Uherské Hradiště, which is one of the top aerospace and defence technology manufacturers. Its communication systems are being used not only by the Czech Armed Forces but also by Allies and partners all over the world. The company has been operating for 70 years and during the Minister’s visit, a ceremony took place to mark this important milestone of one of the region’s largest employers.
EVPÚ Defence produces for example weapons stations for light assault vehicles for the Liberec-based CBRN defence unit and turrets for Pandur wheeled armoured vehicles. Many of its products are successfully exported on foreign markets. The Minister said that she appreciates that the significant investments into the development of the company allow for ever increasing qualification and capability as well as for maintaining a leading position in the field of defence technology with a high added value.
The trip was concluded by a visit of the former Uherské Hradiště prison, which, in the period of the Protectorate, held a number of fighters against Nazism and became famous after February 1948 as the location of brutal investigations carried out by the likes of investigators such as Grebeníček, Hlavačka and Višenka. The Minister laid a wreath at the memorial dedicated to the victims of communism and visited the museum located in the premises of the former prison, closely linked to that time period.
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