Czech ministry cancels Bushmaster armoured vehicle tender

Czechia’s Ministry of Defence has cancelled the tender for armoured Bushmaster vehicles, under which the army was due to receive up to 185 vehicles for combat engineers, medics, special forces and the military police. The decision is recorded in the public procurement register, where the ministry filed its official justification for the cancellation.

Reasons for cancelling the tender

The document states that “special circumstances, including of an economic nature, arose during the procurement procedure, as a result of which the contracting authority cannot be required to continue the procedure — regardless of whether it caused these circumstances itself”. Ministry of Defence spokesman Petr Pešek confirmed that the tender was cancelled in accordance with the public procurement act, and that the reasons for the cancellation were officially communicated to all participants in the competition.

How the procurement project came about

Preparations to buy equipment for combat engineers began back in 2018, but the project was shelved due to a lack of funds. Plans to buy up to 185 armoured vehicles were announced again in June last year by the then government of Petr Fiala (ODS), which included the purchase among the Czech army’s strategic projects. Under the defence ministry’s plan, medium-weight wheeled armoured vehicles were to go to combat engineer units, military medics, special forces and the Military Police. In January 2024 the ministry tasked the state-owned company VOP CZ with updating its market analysis ahead of a fresh procurement attempt.

Production was planned for Šenov

Following the market analysis, Bushmaster armoured vehicles were deemed the most suitable. In May this year VOP CZ announced that if the international group Thales won the European tender for the Bushmaster, production of the vehicles would be set up at VOP CZ’s plant in Šenov near Nový Jičín — the company and Thales had already signed a corresponding alliance agreement. VOP CZ also planned to take part on its own in the tender to supply armoured vehicles to the Czech army.

Source: novinky.cz