Czech Republic Plans to Buy Four Rafael SPYDER All-in-One Systems
The defense minister said a contract is expected around the turn of the year, after four batteries of the previous model have already arrived in the country.
According to a report by the Czech news agency ČTK published on Novinky on October 27, the Czech Ministry of Defense is preparing to acquire four SPYDER All-in-One air defense systems manufactured by Rafael, with the contract likely to be signed around the turn of the year. The statement was made by Defense Minister Jaromír Zůna during a session of the Czech Parliament's Defense Committee.
According to the minister, the new version could not be acquired through an addendum to the previous SPYDER contract, necessitating a separate agreement. Zůna added that project preparations took 11 months, even though its specifications were not yet ready at the start of this year.
The SPYDER All-in-One is a newer configuration of the Israeli system. Unlike the original layout, where the radar, launcher, and command unit are distributed across multiple vehicles, the new version integrates all these components onto a single chassis.
In 2021, the Czech Republic ordered four batteries of the previous SPYDER version for 13.7 billion Czech korunas under a government-to-government agreement between the Czech Ministry of Defense and the Israeli government. All four batteries have already arrived in the Czech Republic and were publicly displayed in September during NATO Days in Ostrava. Their operational integration into the Czech armed forces is expected to continue through 2027, according to an earlier assessment by the minister. The systems are intended to replace Soviet-era 2K12 Kub systems used by the Czech military since the 1970s.
Zůna also mentioned additional air defense projects included in the Czech military's force buildup plan currently being prepared, though the report did not detail their scope or schedules beyond what was stated regarding the SPYDER All-in-One.
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