Czech Republic looks to supply Vietnam more aircraft, radars - source

Colt CZ SE

24/04/2023 10:03

(Adds comments from Czech ambassador, Colt)
    By Francesco Guarascio
       HANOI, April 24 (Reuters) - Vietnam is in talks with the
Czech Republic for military supplies, including aircraft,
radars, upgrades of armoured vehicles and firearms, a Czech
government source told Reuters, as Hanoi aims to diversify its
mostly Russian arsenal.
    Security was one of the main topics discussed with Vietnam
leaders by Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala in a three-day visit
last week, the official said, noting that security firms were
the largest component of the business delegation that
accompanied Fiala.
    The former Soviet satellite state is seen as being well
positioned to meet some of Vietnam's growing security needs as
its military firms excel in retrofitting Russian gear and often
manufacture new equipment that is compatible with Soviet legacy
arms - a skill that is particularly well regarded in Vietnam,
where 80% of the local arsenal is estimated to come from Russia.
    Over the last two decades, Prague has already positioned
itself as the European Union's main supplier of weapons to
Vietnam, according to data from the Stockholm think-tank SIPRI. 
    Hanoi ordered a dozen L-39NG light-combat aircraft in 2021
from Czech manufacturer Aero Vodochody, with delivery to begin
this year. There are talks to deliver more such planes, said the
source, who attended the high-level meetings and asked not to be
named because the talks were internal.
    At the end of a meeting between Fiala and Vietnamese Prime
Minister Pham Minh Chinh, the Vietnamese government said "the
two leaders agreed to step up cooperation in security-defence",
among other fields.
    The official said that Prague could support the transfer of
weapons technology and local manufacturing if significant supply
deals were concluded.
    Of the 15 companies that made up the Czech business
delegation, four were security firms. They were Czechoslovak
Group, Colt CZ Group, Omnipol and STV GROUP, the official said.
    The companies did not reply to requests for comment and Colt
declined to comment.
    Omnipol has a minority stake in Aero Vodochody and owns
Aircraft Industries, the Czech maker of L 410 NG cargo aircraft,
whose sale was also discussed last week with Vietnamese military
procurement officers, the official said.
    Similar talks were held in past days with Indonesian
civilian officials and Philippines counterparts, as part of the
Czech delegation's tour of Asian countries.
    Omnipol officials also held talks in Vietnam about the
possible sale of dual-use radar to be installed in civilian and
military airports, the official said. 
    In Hanoi, STV Group and Czechoslovak Group discussed
possible contracts to upgrade Vietnam's Soviet-made tanks and
armoured vehicles with advanced technologies including
communication equipment.
    Under those contracts, the companies could also provide
spare parts and maintenance, the source said, noting that talks
were still preliminary and no new deal was signed last week.
    "You don't have many options if you want to keep the old
Soviet equipment working. And possibly to do it in a more
sophisticated way," Czech Ambassador to Hanoi Hynek Kmonicek
told Reuters.
    An executive at Excalibur Army, which is part of the
Czechoslovak Group, said talks on possible deliveries of new
armoured vehicles, rocket launchers and howitzers were
progressing very slowly.  
    The Vietnamese foreign ministry did not reply to a request
for comment.
    Possible sales of firearms were also discussed with Colt CZ
Group, the Czech holding company that owns the long-established
U.S. carbine and rifle maker, the source said.

 (Reporting by Francesco Guarascio @fraguarascio; additional
reporting by Khanh Vu; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan and Kevin
Liffey)
 ((Francesco.Guarascio@thomsonreuters.com;))