Czechs Buying Dingos, Iveco MLVs for Afghanistan
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Czech Republic soldiers have deployed a Provincial Reconstruction Team as part of NATO’s ISAF missionto Afghanistan’s southern Logar province, along the very dangerous Pakistani border. The USA offered to lend them more than 20 up-armored Hummers for the duration, but the dangerous regions of southern Afghanistan also demand blast resistant vehicles for the tip of the spear. Hence the government’s November 2007 purchase of KMW’s Dingo 2s (currently in service with German forces to the north) and Iveco’s MLV (known as “Panther CLV” to the British, and also bought by Norway and Spain for use in Afghanistan).
The Dingos appear to have run into trouble, however…
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The Prague Daily Monitor reported that Czech military intelligence service (VZ) director Ondrej Palenik signed a CKr 135 million ($7.5 million) contract with the MPI Group on Nov 20/07 for 4 Dingo-2 vehicles, to be delivered by the end of February 2008. The VZ reportedly solicited 6-8 companies, before narrowing down to 2 finalists under an urgent selection procedure. The Czechs become the Dingo-2’s 4th customer, after Germany, Austria, and Belgium.
The newspaper adds that the defense ministry is also preparing a draft contract on the CKr 100 million ($5.6 million) purchase of 4 Iveco MLVs, which are to be used by the Czech military police’s special unit operating in the southern Afghan province of Helmand. These 8 blast-resistant vehicles will meet only the most urgent needs, however, and a public tendering process will be launched for “tens of light APCs” to join the T-72M4 CZ tanks in the modernized Czech military.
The planned buy of 199 wheeled Pandur II APCs has been canceled.
UPDATE:
March 14/08: Jane’s Defense Weekly reports that deployment of the Dingo 2 vehicles to the Czech Army’s provincial reconstruction team (PRT) mission in Logar Province, Afghanistan remains delayed by unspecified technical problems. Jane’s adds that the Czech Ministry of Defence (MoD) had selected the Dingo 2 in late November 2007 over rival bids based in part on the premise that only the Dingo 2 could be delivered in time to serve with the PRT.
