The Czech military is set to vastly improve its defense capabilities after acquiring cutting-edge radar systems from Israel, according to defense Minister Lubomír Metnar.
The Czech military will buy eight MADR 3D mobile radars from Israel for 3.5 billion korunas (€137 million) based on an intergovernmental contract that the Czech defense minister signed on Dec. 5.
The Czech army will receive the first mobile radar within 20 months while the last tranche of radars will be delivered within 40 months at the latest. Furthermore, based on the terms of the contract, the participation of the Czech companies will constitute at least 30 percent of the construction and delivery of the radars.
“The purchase of MADR 3D mobile radars is one of our key modernization projects. Czech soldiers urgently need this device. We will end our dependence on obsolete Russian devices, and at the same time, we will obtain a top-notch system from our important strategic partner,” said Metnar.
Metnar also pointed out that the Israeli radars have proven their reliability in previous combat deployment while emphasizing that Czech companies will participate in the implementation of the contract.
The new technology will replace Russian radars that have significantly exceeded the recommended operating time. Israeli radars will allow the army to monitor the above-ground situation at altitudes from 100 to 3,000 meters.
The MADR 3D mobile radars, made by the Israeli state enterprise Elta Systems, will be delivered to the Czech Army through the Israeli government.
Both Metnar and the director of the Israeli International Defense Cooperation Directorate, Jair Kulas, also stressed that the contract will further strengthen strategic cooperation between the Czech Republic and Israel.
Kulas then recalled that the cooperation between both countries began in the late 1940s when Czechoslovakia, despite an embargo, supplied Israel with weapons that allowed the newly established state to defend itself against a coordinated attack from other Middle Eastern countries.
