During Forces Forum 2024 (FFF), the leading companies of the Czech defence industry from the CSG group presented themselves as part of a joint exhibition. The professional public and political figures had the opportunity to familiarize themselves with a number of products and services that these companies develop and manufacture in the Czech Republic and offer to their partners and customers, including the Army of the Czech Republic. At the same time, the CSG Group presented itself as the general partner of the Future Forces Forum.
The joint stand of CSG group companies was the centre of interest for a number of personalities both from the political sphere, as well as experts in the field of defence technologies and members of the armed forces. On the first day of the Future Forces Forum, the President of the Czech Republic and the Commander-in-Chief of the Czech Armed Forces, Petr Pavel, visited the CSG exhibition, who took a look at, for example, the TITUS armoured vehicle and the latest generation of the Tatra Force military truck. It also caught the attention of the Minister of Defence Jana Černochová, who also visited the CSG stand, as it is a type of vehicle that will be included in the armament of the Czech Army in the future. The CSG exhibition was also visited by delegations from NATO countries and other allied states, as well as partners from Asia, Africa and America.
As part of the Future Forces Forum, the Tatra Export company concluded a contract with the state-owned company VOP CZ for the supply of almost three dozen Tatra 8x8 chassis for service vehicles, which VOP CZ will supply to the Army of the Czech Republic as part of the project of new infantry fighting vehicles. Representatives of the Excalibur Army and Tatra Defence Vehicle companies from the CSG Defense division also met with representatives of the BAE Systems Hägglunds company, with which they recently concluded cooperation agreements on the production and supply of components and structural units for the CV90 or BvS10 vehicles. In addition, Karbox received the Innovation Award 2024 for the presented EWA exhibit. EWA is a revolutionary device for both civil and military use capable of efficiently extracting potable water directly from atmospheric air, even in extremely low humidity conditions. The project is the result of cooperation between the Karbox company and the University Center for Energy Efficient Buildings (UCEEB), which is part of the Czech Technical University in Prague.
At the Future Forces Forum, Tatra presented its portfolio of vehicles intended for military use, but above all the military logistics vehicle of the Tatra Force series, the latest third generation, in the design of a flatbed on a 6x6 chassis. In the coming years, it will supply, for example, the Czech army and also the Slovak army on the basis of already signed framework contracts. "It will involve the delivery of hundreds of trucks, some of which will be Tatra Force vehicles of the second generation and some of the third generation, while both orders are spread over several years and Tatra is ready for them. However, the total volume of Tatra's orders is increasing, which is why we are also working to increase production capacity in order to meet the growing demand for our vehicles. The goal is to reach the number of 2,500 vehicles per year over the course of three years, while we also plan to expand production within the region of North Moravia," explained Vladimír Sokolovský, sales director of Tatra Export.
The Tatra Defense Vehicle (TDV) company exhibited the TITUS 6x6 armoured vehicle, which, together with the Pandur II 8x8 vehicle, is the main pillar of the development and production of this company. In the summer of this year, TDV fulfilled an order for the supply of 62 TITUS vehicles for the Czech army in three versions. Currently, its designers and technicians are also preparing a new version of the Pandur vehicle. “We are working on a significantly improved and modernized variant, which we call the Pandur II 8x8 EVO. We are developing it based on the interest in the Pandur 8x8 platform abroad and also in view of the fact that the Czech army had previously announced its intention to acquire additional wheeled armoured vehicles and also to modernize the already used Pandur vehicles. We would like to introduce the new product in the middle of next year," said Robert Vent, TDV's commercial director. Also interesting was another novelty that was created in cooperation between TDV and the Dajbych 4X4 company, namely a military ambulance on the new Toyota Land Cruiser series 70 chassis.
The unmissable and largest exhibit of this year's Future Forces Forum was the Morana self-propelled howitzer produced by the Excalibur Army company. "It is a modern artillery system of a new concept on the Tatra 8x8 chassis, which has a 155 mm cannon with a barrel length of 52 calibres located in an armoured revolving turret. Intensive tests are currently underway and we are preparing to build another piece. In addition to this project, we are of course also engaged in the production of our proven systems for customers, for example, the Dita howitzers, which were again ordered by the Dutch government for Ukraine," said Jiří Doležel, business director of Excalibur Army. In addition, in a world premiere, the company presented an observation and patrol system named Hector on a Toyota Land Cruiser series 70 chassis, as well as a Patriot 4x4 armored vehicle with high ballistic and anti-mine resistance, which is in the equipment of the Czech fire brigade or supplied, for example, to the Polish army.
Retia company exhibited the ReGuard multi-purpose 3D radar, which is intended for the detection and simultaneous tracking of ground targets and slow low-flying objects with a small reflective surface. It is suitable for use in short-range anti-aircraft systems or in anti-drone systems. In addition to the ReGuard radar, Retia also exhibited the light and portable ReTwis 5+ radar. It can find and track living people and animals that are behind a wall or other non-metallic obstacle.
Another exhibitor at the joint stand of the CSG group was the MSM Group, which includes several manufacturers of modern medium-calibre and large-calibre ammunition. The Slovak company ZVS holding presented 155 mm artillery ammunition of the NATO standard, the company VOP Nováky also presented training ammunition of 155 mm calibre and also mortar ammunition of 120 mm calibre. The Fábrica de Municiones de Granada demonstrated various types of 120mm NATO tank ammunition as well as 60mm artillery mortar ammunition. "In recent weeks, we have officially opened new production premises at ZVS holding in Snina in the east of Slovakia, and we are planning additional production premises in the town of Strážske. With this, we are trying to strengthen our position on the market, but above all to satisfy the large demand for large-calibre ammunition as much as possible. We also want to help fulfil the strategic goals of NATO and the EU in terms of defence capabilities and self-sufficiency in ammunition supplies," explained Jakub Fedor, MSM Group's business manager.
The Karbox and Tatra Defense Systems (TDS) companies brought a Marrel hook loader and a new type of transport platform on a Tatra Force 8x8 chassis, as well as a wide range of camouflage tools by Czech Camouflage Systems for vehicles, to Future Forces Forum 2024. Also very interesting was the EWA exhibit, which received the already mentioned award for the best innovation, the Innovation Award 2024. The company Czechoslovak Export, which acts as an integrator of complex projects of CSG group companies and also represents them commercially in a number of regions after all over the world. Czechoslovak Export focuses primarily on large international projects, the supply of complex turnkey solutions, the provision of logistics and the financing of projects in the field of defence and civil industry.
The CSG Group has been the general partner of the Future Forces Forum since July this year. The general partnership of the Future Forces Forum project with the global industrial-technological group CSG means strengthening the position and prestige of the Forum and at the same time supports the activities of companies belonging to CSG in the field of production and development of security technologies and military equipment. "Thanks to our partnership, the Future Forces Forum platform allows us to familiarize not only the experts, but also the general public in detail with our technologically advanced products and the progress we have achieved in the adoption of ground-breaking technologies in our areas of competence. At the same time, we want to demonstrate the ability of our companies to respond to dynamic technological development and show the ability to translate the latest findings from the military into products that meet the current and future needs of our customers and domestic or foreign partners. We want to continue to use the Future Forces Forum to discuss the possibilities of further development of our products, expansion of industrial cooperation, and as a result we also want to present our visions for the future," explained Bohuslav Přikryl, vice president for research, development and innovation within the CSG group.
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