On September 30, Czech Defense Minister Lubomír Metnar signed a contract in Prague with Nicolas Chamussy, CEO of the French Nexter Group, and in the presence of French Defense Minister Florence Parly for the purchase of 52 Caesar self-propelled artillery guns in an eight-wheel drive version (8×8).
The guns will be delivered between 2024 and 2026 – with considerable Czech added value of 40 percent – and will replace Dana’s own designs from the 1970s (then manufactured in what is now Slovakia). The first four cannons will be assembled in France, while the remaining 48 units – with the exception of the actual cannon, of course – will be built and finally assembled by Czech companies The 8×8 chassis with armored cab will be supplied by Tatra to Excalibur Army – a company of the Czech holding CSG – which will also ensure final assembly in the country. Retia will integrate the communication means and equipment associated with the artillery fire control system. The partnership also includes the ammunition, which will be manufactured mainly by conventional shells and modular charges at STV and Explosia. More complex special ammunition will be supplied by Nexter’s ammunition division. Also included are the delivery of a training simulator, training of Czech specialists and a two-year warranty. In the press releases from Nexter and the Prague Ministry of Defense, reference is made to the advantages of the Caesar system due to its high ammunition autonomy with 36 shells and – compared to howitzers on a full tracked chassis – its low mass with the resulting lower fuel consumption. This is seen as a major advantage in high-intensity combat configurations in which logistical supplies could potentially be threatened by helicopters or enemy long-range artillery.
The 52 road-mobile 155 mm guns will cost 8.52 billion Czech crowns (around 336 million euros) including tax and at today’s exchange rate. This means that the price is around 40 percent higher than the originally budgeted 6 billion crowns (237 million euros), which Defense Minister Metnar justifies with inflation, increased raw material prices and the 40 percent relocation of production to the Czech Republic. However, he and his French counterpart naturally cited the deal as a shining example of European armaments cooperation. With this major order, the Czech Republic becomes the third European customer (France itself with 77 units and Denmark with 19 units, also with cabins from Tatra) and the seventh user worldwide (Indonesia: 55, Lebanon: 24, Morocco: 36, Saudi Arabia: 132 and Thailand: 6) of the Caesar system. With this new order, Nexter has now produced over 350 units since 2008. The French army has already used Caesar several times in live fire in conflicts – for example in Afghanistan in 2009, in Mali by the 68e régiment d’artillerie d’Afrique, in Iraq in 2017 against IS in the recapture of Mosul and in Syria in 2019 to support the Syrian Democratic Forces and also against IS in the battle of Baghuz Fawqani. According to Thailand, it destroyed two BM-21 rocket launchers from Cambodia over a distance of 40 kilometers in 2011.
