Center for analysis of world arms trade, the 4th of May, 2018. The Excalibur Army, a member of the Czechoslovak Group (CSG), entered into a contract for the supply of restored BVP-1 infantry fighting vehicles and 122-mm 2C1 Gvozdika self-propelled howitzers to the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
As Jane’s Defense Weekly was told by CSG press secretary Andrey Tsirtek, the contract for the supply of “dozens of platforms” was signed recently, and its value is “hundreds of millions of kroons”. Excalibur Army will completely restore armored vehicles and self-propelled howitzers at the enterprise VOP 026 Sternberk, and then hand them over to Polish partner Wtorplast, which exports them to the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
A. Tsirtek did not specify whether Excalibur Army is a subcontractor of the contract for the supply of armored vehicles to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, saying only that it had set up a joint venture with Polish Wtorplast, which, according to media reports, signed a contract on April 7th to supply the upgraded BMP-1 to the Land Forces of Ukraine.
Armored vehicles BMP-1 were manufactured under license in the former Czechoslovakia under the designation
BVP-1. Experts believe that BMP-1 intended for delivery by Excalibur Army to Ukraine was produced in the Czech Republic.
Self-propelled howitzers 2C1 “Carnations” were produced in Poland until 1989 under the designation 2S1 Gozdzik. It is assumed that Excalibur Army will carry out overhaul of the installations produced in Poland.
The last contract for the delivery of BMP and Self propelled howitzers to Ukraine is another one concluded transaction of Czechoslovak Group that provides for the export of surplus Soviet-era armored vehicles. Over the past three years, the company has exported tanks, armored cars and self-propelled artillery to Nigeria, Indonesia, and at the end of 2017 and to Azerbaijan. It is noteworthy that in the case of Ukraine, the Czech company operates through an intermediary.
Source: http://armstrade.org/includes/periodics/news/2018/0504/102546594/detail.shtml