AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE,
PRAGUE: The Czech defence ministry said Wednesday that Finnish group Patria and Austria's Steyr-Daimler-Puch were the remaining candidates for a contract to build 234 tanks for the Czech military after the rejection of a German rival.
Rheinmetall Landsysteme, a subsidiary of German defence group Rheinmetall, has been eliminated from the tender process after buoyancy tests were conducted on the armoured vehicles proposed by each company, a spokesman for the ministry of defence, Andrej Cirtek, told AFP.
The contract, worth 25 billion korunas (856 million euros, 1.0 billion dollars), is the biggest in the history of the Czech army and will be awarded next February.
“The two candidates have to submit their final offers before November 14 so that the public tender commission can then recommend a winner to the government,” said Cirtek.
The contract is for 199 tanks, plus an option for a further 35, which will be delivered between 2007 and 2012.
“The price, the participation of Czech industry, and the technical and tactical quality of the engines will be the three main criteria for the final decision,” said Cirtek.
The new vehicles will replace the amphibious OT-64 model of military vehicle which was built in the 1960s but is still used by the Czech army.
The new tanks will replace the OT-64s that have been in service since 1960. The Czech army still has several hundred of these machines, but most of them are no longer operational.
