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

Colt CZ SE

24/04/2023 05:10

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 at diversifying
its mostly Russian arsenal.
    Security was one of the top topics discussed with Vietnam
leaders by Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala in a three-day visit
to the country 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 Vietnam's 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 weapons'
technology transfer and local manufacturing if significant
supply deals were concluded.
    Of the 15 companies that composed the Czech business
delegation, four were security firms. They were Czechoslovak
Group, Colt CZ Group, Omnipol and STV GROUP, the official said.
    The four companies did not reply to requests for 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 radars 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.
    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 Vietnam foreign ministry and the Czech embassy in Hanoi
had no immediate 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)
 ((Francesco.Guarascio@thomsonreuters.com;))