The Netherlands is reinforcing its ground-based air defence. The German army will acquire 19 Skyranger 30 systems by 2028, which Italy and Hungary also want. Romania is buying Patriots and modernising its air defence system. Lithuania is strengthening its ground air defence system. This and other recent information clearly reflects the importance of ground-based air defense assets, mobile air defense assets, and C-UAS on the modern battlefield to successfully accomplish missions while minimizing their own losses. And where does the Czech Republic stand with regard to PVO or C-UAS?

The Army of the Czech Republic is aware of what is happening in the world, but not much is written in the public domain about the preparation of specific projects in the field of ground-based air defence, mobile air defence assets for the protection of manoeuvring elements of task groups or assets capable of effectively destroying drones of various categories. At CZ DEFENCE, we have written about the importance of multilayered mobile air defense systems, including descriptions of existing, future, and potential future weapon systems that the Czech Army might possess.

The actual state of air defence in our army is that the ground air defence forces today still rely on the old ex-Soviet 2K12 KUB systems and the MANPADS RBS-70 and RBS-70 NG carried on the Tatras in anticipation of the arrival of the Israeli SPYDER anti-aircraft sets. The Czech Army envisages the operational deployment of four SPYDER batteries by 1 January 2028, three years from now.

Regarding the RBS-70 NG anti-aircraft systems, negotiations are still underway for a chassis platform with a remotely operated turret. In our discussion program CZ DIALOGUES last September, Colonel Jaroslav Daverný, Chief of the Air Defence Ground Forces of the Air Force Development Department of the Force Development Section of the Ministry of Defence, spoke about this topic. For now, however, it is believed that such a contract is still pending.

Colonel Daverný also mentioned the experience of members of the 25th Anti-Aircraft Regiment in firing the RBS-70 system against Iranian kamikaze drones Shahid-136, of which Russia has already deployed thousands on the Ukrainian battlefield. However, given the purchase price of the RBS-70 Mk-3 Bolide missiles and all the accessories necessary for the effective deployment of these missiles, it is clear that the means currently at the disposal of the Czech Army are not only insufficient, but also economically rather ineffective against such a threat as the aforementioned kamikaze drones Shahid-136, even in the case of a 100% success rate of hits.

On the basis of practical experience not only from the Ukrainian battlefield, the answer to this issue may lie in the deployment of barrel weapons, ideally in combination with programmable munitions, where the question of the economic efficiency of this defence is much more favourable. However, this does not mean that armies should get rid of cruise missiles or reduce them in some form - the combination is essential, as each means is by definition designed and effective against a different threat. An example of a modern system that combines both missile and barrel armament is the Skyranger 30 from the German company Rheinmetall. Based in Germany on the Boxer platform (the first were ordered in February 2024), the Skyranger 30 system uses Stinger missiles.

In Austria, this short-range turret air defence system will be installed on Pandur 6x6 EVO armoured vehicles and will use Mistral missiles.

Denmark wants to use the Piranha V platform and the Netherlands the ACSV tracked vehicles. Already in 2021, the Hungarian government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding to use the Skyranger 30 system on Lynx KF41 vehicles, and Italy is likely to choose the same solution.

These are projects at the stage of considerations, preliminary commitments, orders at the most, but compared to the certain caution we observe in the Czech Republic regarding ground-based air defence and specifically anti-drone means, there is a clear difference in approach. The Czech Army is aware of the importance of these assets, but for some reason only very cautious steps are taken in this area, which, moreover, show the pain of our acquisition projects over the years - delays, delays, complications. Of course, we are not talking at all about projects in the field of air defence, such as the laser weapons tested in the USA or the UK against drones.

The lack of funds should not be a problem, since last year alone about CZK 5 billion was not spent, and it was possible to increase advances for the purchase of F-35 aircraft. Thus, along with expensive acquisition projects related to the armament of the ground forces, such as tracked BMPs, main battle tanks, or in the near future the modernisation or replacement of wheeled BMPs, we should also think about modern and effective ground air defence, so that our army builds its capabilities across the entire spectrum and in parallel.

We have asked the following questions to the Ministry of Defence in relation to ground and mobile air defence and C-UAS in the Army:

Is the Ministry of Defence considering the acquisition of a higher number of SPYDER kits in a specific timeframe?

The Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic is considering the overall strengthening of the ground air defence system by 2035. Currently, the Air Force construction concept is being finalised, which also includes ground-based air defence. The concept envisages the construction of additional capabilities corresponding to current and future threats. The SPYDER complexes are one of the options to enhance the short (5-15 km) and medium (15-50 km) range capabilities of the ground-based air defence system.

When does the Ministry of Defence expect to sign a contract for the acquisition of a chassis platform for a mobile air defence system using the RBS-70 NG system?

The MoD is ready to complete contract negotiations in 2025 and is currently awaiting a contractor's offer. After that, the negotiated contract must go through the approval procedure set out in Act No. 134/2016 Coll., on public procurement.

Is the DoD considering the acquisition of mobile assets with C-UAS capability that combine barrel and missile armament in a specific timeframe?

DoD will complete a market research and feasibility analysis in 2025 to initiate further steps to acquire C-UAS mobile capabilities. Currently, given the additional research and development of these systems around the world, the MoD is not focused on a specific type of lethality against air targets.