Five Czech companies to be involved in US military helicopter deal

The Czech Defence ministry on Thursday signed a memorandum with American aerospace manufacturer Bell Textron about including Czech industry in the recently signed deal for purchasing 12 military helicopters for the country’s armed forces. According to the document, five Czech companies will be cooperating with the American manufacturer and overall Czech industry involvement will be 30 percent, the Czech News Agency reports.

The Czech helicopter purchase was signed off last week in the Pentagon by Defence Minister Vladimír Metnar. The eight multi-purpose UH-1Y Venom’s and four AH-1Z Viper battle helicopters will cost some CZK 14.7 billion excluding VAT.