Czechia to Become First NATO Country to Field Israeli Spyder Air Defence System

Czechia is set to become the first NATO country to put the Israeli Spyder surface-to-air missile system into service. This was announced by representatives of the Czech Army and the Ministry of Defence at the Dny NATO exhibition.

In total, Czechia will operate four Spyder firing units. Each battery consists of nine vehicles, including four launchers and a crane. The system is capable of shooting down aircraft, helicopters, drones and cruise missiles.

First in the Alliance

According to Defence Minister Jiří Zůna, this is only the first step towards building the country's future air defence system. "We are now integrating the four batteries into our systems. This should be completed by 2028," the minister said. He also stressed that for Czechia to be able to count on help from its NATO allies when needed, it must itself contribute to the alliance's collective defence.

Colonel Daverný, commander of the 25th Air Defence Missile Regiment, said Czechia will be the first NATO member to have the Spyder system in service. "Elsewhere in the world, it's used by around ten countries," he noted. The systems will be based specifically with the 25th Regiment in Strakonice. The equipment is currently undergoing final testing, after which it will be fully handed over to the army.

The military has already trained instructors, though technicians and crews who will operate the system still need training. A distinctive feature of Spyder is that the vehicles within a single battery don't have to be positioned near one another — the distance between them can reach several kilometres. "The crews on each vehicle have to operate completely independently, which is exactly what makes the training so demanding," Daverný explained. He added that the final stage of training will involve trial missile launches next October.

Additional batteries under consideration

Prime Minister Andrej Babiš said at Dny NATO that the army is considering purchasing additional batteries of a newer version — the Spyder All-in-One, which integrates the radar, control system and launcher on a single vehicle. According to Daverný, this would be a major advantage. "As soldiers, we'd like to have at least four such batteries," he said. No purchase contract has been signed yet, and negotiations are ongoing.

Assembled in Czechia

Petr Čepelka, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Czech Army, noted that Spyder replaces systems the army has used since the 1970s. He said the Israeli system is four to five times more powerful than its predecessors, which will strengthen the protection of the country's infrastructure and population.

The system's vehicles were assembled directly in Czechia, although some components — including the radar and two of the system's internal computers — were imported from Israel. The missiles are also supplied from abroad, while the rest was assembled domestically. The Spyder CZ project involved the Czech Military Technical Institute and Retia, a Pardubice-based manufacturer of radar and control systems.

Source: novinky.cz