Czech defense industry targeted by parliamentary election favorite

With its spare parts lying around and the smell of oil, the Excalibur Army factory in Sternberk, in the eastern Czech Republic, looks a bit like a huge auto repair shop. The difference is that these unsightly warehouses, nestled between a commercial area and a psychiatric hospital, are where crucial military equipment for Ukraine is assembled.

At the end of September, dozens of workers were busy modernizing Soviet-era T-72 light tanks or manufacturing Viktors, light artillery pieces mounted on Toyota chassis renowned for their agility in anti-drone defense.

"The Ukrainians are using them to shoot down Shahed [Iranian-made kamikaze drones used by Russia], " says Pavel Dosko, the sales director, as a fresh delivery is just about to pass through the doors of the factory, which employs around 1,000 people. Excalibur also manufactures multiple rocket launchers and Howitzer howitzers for Ukraine, but this subsidiary of the arms giant Czechoslovak Group (CSG) has just inaugurated a new workshop specializing in the assembly of the 62 Caesar cannons ordered in 2021 and 2022 by the Czech army from the Franco-German group KNDS.

You have 87.36% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.