Next week, the government will discuss the procurement of 8 H-1 platform helicopters (6 AH-1Z Viper and 2 UH-1Y Venom) donated by the US government under the Excess Defence Articles (EDA) program. The contractor is the US government.

The technically evaluated helicopters will match the condition and equipment of the 12 new H-1 helicopters already delivered (8 UH-1Y Venom multirole helicopters and 4 AH-1Z Viper attack helicopters) under an intergovernmental agreement signed in 2019 by the former Czech Minister of Defence Lubomír Metnar and his American counterpart Mark Esper.

The delivery of the aforementioned used machines was negotiated by the current Minister of Defence Jana Černochová in Washington in April 2022. These are 2 pieces of the Venom helicopter and 6 pieces of the Viper attack helicopter, which the Czech Republic received from the USA for free. The subject of the public contract is not only the technical evaluation of the machines, but also the acquisition of accessories, flight simulator and spare parts for the maintenance of all 8 helicopters of the H-1 system.

The total estimated value of the contract is CZK 8,128,449,100.66 (USD 363,266,406.00) excluding VAT. The offer includes compensation of 300 million USD for the military material handed over to Ukraine, meaning the participation of the state budget of the Czech Republic is thus USD 63,266,406.00 or CZK 1,415,649,100.66 excluding VAT. The total participation of the state budget is then expected to amount to CZK 3,657,300,000, which includes the payment of the advance (the remaining price after deduction of the donation of USD 300 million) in the amount of approximately CZK 1,415,649,100.66, as well as VAT payments for the delivered goods, costs associated with customs and licensing procedures and transport, and reserves in the event of a negative exchange rate development in the amount of CZK 2,241,650,899.34.

The procurement is being conducted outside the statutory regime using the defense or security (government-to-government) procurement exception, as technical upgrades to the level of the H-1 helicopters already procured can only be performed under Foreign Military Sales (FMS) rules, and within the U.S. territory. The FMS rules are followed because the donated helicopters are the property of the U.S. Government and contain cryptographic equipment, countermeasure systems, and equipment covered by missile technology export controls that cannot be acquired except in this manner. The technical evaluation itself will be subject to a competitive process under FMS rules.

The reason for the technical evaluation of the donated helicopters of the H-1 system is to ensure full operational capabilities and further development of the Helicopter Air Force of the Army of the Czech Republic in the performance of combat support tasks of ground and special forces units, the performance of tasks in the National Air Defence Reinforcement System of the Czech Republic and possible cooperation with the components of the Integrated Rescue System of the Czech Republic in dealing with crisis situations. All this while increasing interoperability within NATO, and reducing dependence on the Russian Federation due to the replacement of obsolete Mi-category helicopters.

According to the Ministry of Defence, the above-mentioned acquisition of 8 additional helicopters is the most advantageous from an economic point of view, also because of compatibility with the 12 helicopters already acquired. The alternative would be the acquisition of new helicopters of the same type, which, according to current prices, would mean an increase in the value of the contract by CZK 7.6 to 8.2 billion including VAT.

The following agreements of a similar nature are currently in place with the United States Government:

• A contract for the delivery of 12 H-1 helicopters valued at USD 650,880,112 (CZK 14,564,093,387 excluding VAT), which is being implemented.
• Service contracts for the operation of 12 H-1 helicopters valued at USD 213,887,181 (CZK 4,785,939,563 excluding VAT).

The term of the contract is until 12 August 2024.