PRAGUE - The Czech Ministry of Defense is reviewing its options for a successor to its Soviet-legacy SA-6 'Gainful' (2K12 KUB) mobile surface-to-air missile (SAM) systems used for air defense. The Ministry has reached out to as many as five missile vendors, including U.S. company Raytheon, producer of the Patriot system. Also believed to have been contact are European missile holding company, MBDA, and Israeli firm IAI, producer of the Iron Dome.
The Czech SA-6 inventory has served the Army of the Czech Republic for some 40-plus years now and the service lives on many of these are due to expire between now and 2020.
The replacement of remaining Cold War-era military equipment has been a slow, ongoing process for the Czech Republic since it joined the NATO Alliance in 1999. The goal is twofold: the acquire newer, more technically-modern and capable hardware allowing Czech troops to interoperate with allied forces while moving the military away from Russian-produced systems.
With the latest acquisition the Czech Defense Ministry will achieve both aims and add a CZK3.5 billion ($141 million) 3D Mobile Air Defense Radar (MADR) capability to couple with the new SAM systems. Bidders for this contract include Sweden's Saab, Israeli firm Elta, and French company Thales.
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