The name of the state-owned company VOP CZ, s.p. has been mentioned more and more recently in connection with potential industrial cooperation with foreign suppliers of military equipment, where every tender for the Czech Armed Forces always requires maximum participation of Czech companies in the overall contract. The most recent project is the acquisition of 210 CV90 MkIV tracked infantry fighting vehicles, in which the state-owned company VOP CZ is among the leading suppliers. It is precisely in connection with the participation of the state enterprise VOP CZ in the implementation of the CV90 programme that there are some doubts both at the political level within the meetings of the Committee on Defence of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic and within the arms industry. It is not only for this reason that we personally visited the VOP CZ company and toured the entire operation in Šenov u Nový Jičín. In addition to the aforementioned plant, the company also has another facility in nearby Bludovice.

Video: Report from our visit to VOP CZ / CZ DEFENCE

VOP CZ s.p. is a service and repair company operating in the field of military technology, engineering production and development. It has its own development centre with competitive projects applied in the Czech Army, security forces and civilian sector. In particular, we can mention the UGV TAROS V4, an autonomous robotic vehicle with advanced autonomous control and guidance functions, which we will present in more detail below. A key capability of the company is the provision of repair, upgrades and service in the defence and security sector. Another focus of the business is to establish itself as an integrator of military contracts for its key customer, the Czech Army. This role is a key area for participation in future military contracts. And it has references from the previous period: the repair of 350 units of BVP-1 to the Pbv 501 version for the Swedish Ministry of Defence, the modernisation of 30 tanks to the T-72M4 CZ version, in 2013 the company developed and produced 107 Pandur II 8×8 CZ wheeled infantry fighting vehicles, including reconnaissance, medical, engineer and command versions or the version for the reconnaissance mission in Afghanistan. The last major project was the production of more than 400 armoured cabs for NIMR Automotive from the United Arab Emirates.

Picture: Hall No. 1 in Šenov, where the metallurgical material supplied is processed. This is a significant advantage, as the company is able to provide most of the parts for later repairs or construction of the structure itself in this so-called metallurgical part, where laser machines are used to cut the material. | Michal Pivoňka / CZ DEFENCE

Picture: Hall No. 1 in Šenov, where the metallurgical material supplied is processed. This is a significant advantage, as the company is able to provide most of the parts for later repairs or construction of the structure itself in this so-called metallurgical part, where laser machines are used to cut the material. | Michal Pivoňka / CZ DEFENCE

The company has ten production segments in Šenov, and another six in Bludovice. "But for example, we produced 400 armoured cabins for the United Arab Emirates, including dashboards, weapon box mounts, ammunition boxes and other components, including the installation of bulletproof glass and crew protection," says Kamil Kučera, VOP CZ's Managing Director. The hall No. 1 in Šenov is interesting, where the supplied metallurgical material is processed. This is a significant advantage, as the company is able to provide most of the parts for later repairs or construction of the structure itself in this so-called metallurgical section, where laser machines are used to cut the material. The conventional blanks are then sent to the welding shop for further production and assembly. Recognising this key capability, the company is investing in additional machines capable of processing the metallurgical semi-finished product in order to ensure sufficient parts for further production. The machines can burn sheet thicknesses of up to 200 millimetres, plus a bevel, which makes further machining of the billet more efficient. All production is subject to a high level of quality. The current biggest partners of the Šenov company are foreign companies from the automotive sector - Linde Material Handling (Germany) and TLD (France). The precision of the production of components, which are delivered directly to assembly lines in foreign companies and must have precise parameters with almost zero deviation, is thus very important.

Picture: Moment from the production of the state enterprise VOP CZ | Michal Pivoňka / CZ DEFENCE

Picture: Moment from the production of the state enterprise VOP CZ | Michal Pivoňka / CZ DEFENCE

In terms of building the capability to service and repair military equipment, Hall 6 is key. According to the Managing Director of VOP CZ. s.p., this is a regime workplace, because military equipment is repaired here and weapons and technologies subject to special handling are located here. The company is licensed to trade in military material and has a security clearance at the 'secret' level. "This hall is used for repairs and upgrades of T-72 tanks or military equipment in general. Today we have here the equipment of the Army of the Czech Republic, which are the T-72M4 CZ tanks, we have here the BVP-2," describes the director Kučera.

Picture: The so-called technical evaluation of the T-72M4 CZ tanks for the Czech Armed Forces is a project that follows the original modernisation of these tanks. The last modernization of our main battle tanks took place in 2003. | Michal Pivoňka / CZ DEFENCE

Picture: The so-called technical evaluation of the T-72M4 CZ tanks for the Czech Armed Forces is a project that follows the original modernisation of these tanks. The last modernization of our main battle tanks took place in 2003. | Michal Pivoňka / CZ DEFENCE

The so-called technical evaluation of the T-72M4 CZ tanks for the Czech Armed Forces is a project that follows the original modernisation of these tanks. The last modernisation of our main battle tanks took place in 2003. "That is why we have proceeded to the fact that today, in the fire control system and other systems, we are replacing out-of-production and obsolete components with those that will be produced in the future, because the commitment is: to keep the tanks combat-ready and operational until 2035," adds Kučera.

Picture: The so-called technical evaluation of the T-72M4 CZ tanks for the Czech Armed Forces is a project that follows the original modernisation of these tanks. The last modernization of our main battle tanks took place in 2003. | Michal Pivoňka / CZ DEFENCE

For the T-72 tanks, the emphasis is on engine performance, hence the use of the powerpack system. It includes a Perkins engine, Ellison transmission and cooling system in one block. This is a unique feature available only to the Czech Army. Furthermore, the technical evaluation includes requirements for the fire control system, fire suppression system and communication elements. All the repairs imply the implementation of Western equipment in the tanks and a departure from the Eastern orientation. For the Czech Army, VOP CZ also provides superstructures for Tatra chassis in the versions of aerial filler and ground equipment-tractor (CAPL and CNS).

Picture: The so-called technical evaluation of the T-72M4 CZ tanks for the Czech Armed Forces is a project that follows the original modernisation of these tanks. The last modernization of our main battle tanks took place in 2003. | Michal Pivoňka / CZ DEFENCE

Picture: Recovery vehicle | Michal Pivoňka / CZ DEFENCE

Picture: BVP-2 | Michal Pivoňka / CZ DEFENCE

The state enterprise VOP CZ is also involved in the assistance of Czech arms companies to Ukraine. In cooperation with Ukroboronprom, it will provide overhauls of T-64 tanks for Ukraine. As part of the preparations, part of the production will be moved to Bludovice so that the facilities of the state enterprise will be sufficiently prepared for the repair of Ukrainian tanks. According to Kučera, this is a valuable experience, where in case of successful execution of the contract the number of repaired machines can be significantly increased.

Preparation for a possible repair or production service can also be seen outside Hall 6. Examples include the technologies that were originally used to weld and machine the Pandur bodies and the assembly area that is now used for the company's civilian production: "Today it is an assembly line adapted for the assembly of large forklifts. It used to be used for the production of Pandurs," says Kučera. According to Kučera, the state-owned enterprise needs about six months to make the transition to military contracts. "If it is a finished developed product, i.e. there is a design documentation, we will do the so-called adaptation of the documentation and we will finish some technological nodes," says the executive director. Kučera said it was the ability to produce Pandurs that was a reference for BAE Systems in industrial cooperation agreements. "Here, Pandurs were made completely, from welding the ridges to final assembly and subsequent testing, including induction into the army. So it is known that we have these capabilities," Kučera explains.

Picture: Part of the assembly line. Part of the assembly line, originally used to machine Pandur hulls, today it is a large forklift | Michal Pivoňka / CZ DEFENCE

As I mentioned in the introduction, the state-owned company VOP CZ also produces the TAROS V4 UGV, which was shown to us during the dynamic demonstration. It is an autonomous robotic vehicle that enables continuous operation and deployment in complex and risky environments. Its strengths include high variability allowing for a wide range of uses, autonomous functions, use in contaminated or otherwise hazardous environments, fungibility, and reduced risk of loss of life. According to Vojtěch Kyselý from the research and development department of VOP CZ (Developer autonomous vehicles VOP), the vehicle is capable of a top speed of up to 25 km/h, but the model demonstrated has a limiter of 15 km/h. This is due to the ability to control the machine. The vehicle can have basically any body: radar, weapon stations, gunshot detection systems, etc. It also allows for hybrid operation, where the vehicle can include a central station to increase overall range and utilization. The prototype demonstrated had a weight of 1,500 kilograms unladen, with a maximum weight of up to 2.5 tonnes.

Picture: UGV TAROS V4 | Michal Pivoňka / CZ DEFENCE

Picture: Remote control of autonomous robotic vehicle TAROS V4 | Michal Pivoňka / CZ DEFENCE

"It's a hybrid vehicle that currently has a central station in it (3kW recharges up to 150A per hour). Of course, we run everything on a safe voltage," Kyselý introduces. The range of the vehicle varies depending on the amount of fuel the vehicle is carrying. "For pure battery operation, the expected range of the vehicle is up to 60 km," says Vojtěch Kyselý, explaining the capabilities of TAROS. We wondered whether the army has any requirements for the prototype. According to Kyselý, the prototype is ready for any product that is currently available on the market.

Picture: Autonomous robotic vehicle TAROS V2 | Michal Pivoňka / CZ DEFENCE

VOP CZ s.p. takes industrial cooperation seriously and sees its new start as cooperation with the Swedish company BAE Systems in the CV90 tracked BMP project. During our visit, we asked the company director several questions.

What capabilities can you offer the Swedes?

We are ready to fully involve all our employees. We are ready to expand our capacities with experts from outside. But they must have the competencies we need to fit into the team and work the way we need them to.

There is a lot of talk about the economic health of your business. So where are you economically?

It looks like we don't have audited results for 2022 yet. However, the business will end up in the black. Of course, the numbers could be better, but at the moment we have to take what we have.

A business of this type is all about people. How are you doing in terms of personnel, are you counting on the possible use of Ukrainian workers?

At the moment we have some Ukrainian employees that we employ here with us. However, we expect that in the near future the number will be expanded just for the repair of equipment that will go to Ukraine.

Can you mention any major investments that VOP CZ is expecting?

We are investing in soldering equipment that we will be installing or are currently installing. We have robotic welding. So we are using a lot of new technologies precisely because if the Czech Republic is threatened, we can switch to military production at any time and use all the capacity for repairs and maintenance. And that's actually what we were set up to do by the Ministry of Defence to serve the Czech Army.

What about the energy intensity of the company's operations?

Well, it's quite demanding. Of course, we have a high consumption of gas, we have a high consumption of electricity. However, we are working to make sure that the intensity is not so burdensome.

What is your cooperation with the so-called civil sector?

We cooperate with the civil sector in the area of repairs, with companies from the area of Šenov u Nové Jičín. As far as future orders are concerned, we will also cooperate with other companies from the Czech Republic for the assembly of the CV90. We take it that we are not a company that has to show maximum profit. We are here to serve the army. We are doing everything we can to make the project that the army needs a reality. To be the ones who cooperate not only with the Swedish side, but also with the Czech defence industry and are interested in making sure that a lot of people learn how to work on the assembly of the vehicle.

Industrial cooperation is such a popular term in recent years. Is VOP CZ looking for partners for cooperation in production itself?

We are looking for some, some are applying themselves. The CV90 project has received a lot of media coverage and companies want to discuss possible involvement. We are also looking intensively at how to improve the projects we have implemented to best meet the requirements of the Czech Army. We have been to some meetings abroad to discuss the necessary issues to offer the Army what it needs.

Is there any unique project that you are developing for the Czech Army?

That project is TAROS, a tactical robotic system. It is a driverless vehicle that can be driven, has a range of up to 50 km and can carry applications that the army will require.

In terms of civilian production, are you using a lot of the preparations and techniques that you could or have historically used for weapons production?

Right. We have jigs that we have developed and that we have made ourselves for the production of Pandur vehicles that we have designed and manufactured, but also supplied to the military. Then we have the shooters and other jigs that we have developed specifically for the production of armoured cabs for NIMR vehicles. This was for the United Arab Emirates. We not only manufactured the cabs, but also tested them in cooperation with our sister company VTU according to NATO standards and did the basic assembly of their components according to the requirements. However, it is the employees who are important to us. I think that we have a lot of quality people here who have a lot of heart and are able to work with full commitment on orders for the Army of the Czech Republic.

Where would you like to see VOP CZ in terms of economic results and prestige at the end of this year?

That is a very good question. I would be very happy to see VOP CZ fulfilling what it was founded to do in the first place, which is to serve the Czech Army. That we take all steps to ensure that the work we do is of high quality and that we are perceived as such not only by the army but also by the Ministry of Defence - that we are a necessary and valid part of the supply chain for the Czech Army both in terms of security and quality.

Picture: General view of production hall No. 6 | Michal Pivoňka / CZ DEFENCE