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 mission to Afghanistan’s southern Logar province, along the Pakistani border havens. 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. LMVs are known by many names, including MLV, Lince, etc.; they are heavier than a Humvee but lighter than the Dingos, incorporate a number of approaches to mine protection, and have been bought by many European countries for use in Afghanistan and other foreign deployment.
The Dingos appear to have run into trouble along the way, but Iveco’s MLVs are receiving additional orders…
Contracts and Key Events
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Dec 27/09: Iveco Defence Vehicles announces that the Czech Army is ordering another 90 Light Multirole Vehicles (LMVs, also known as MLV, Lince, etc.) in 3 different versions, to be delivered between 2010 – 2013. These vehicles would be added to the Czech Army’s 24 delivered LMV vehicles, complete with Kongsberg 12.7mm remote weapon stations. To date, Czech LMVs have reportedly encountered 3 IED land mine attacks in Afghanistan, with no casualties sustained.
A StrategyPage piece suggests that the Czech Dingos may be having problems with local fuel that isn’t up to standard, while the Iveco vehicles have done better.
June 23/09: An emailed Iveco document announcing Slovakia’s purchase of 10 vehicles, and places the total Czech order for its MLV vehicles at 21.
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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.
Nov 20/07: 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 (4 Dingos-2s, 4 MLVs) 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.
A planned buy of 199 wheeled Pandur II 8×8 APCs to add heavier accompaniment for the tanks was canceled, then reinstated later.
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