The Czech Army is preparing to purchase new eight-wheeled armored vehicles to replace its existing Pandur II 8x8 CZ armored vehicles. At the recent IDET trade fair, we focused on exhibitors whose vehicles could be potential new wheeled platforms for this category in our army. We visited the stand of the Czech company Tatra Defence Vehicle, which premiered its new Pandur 8x8 EVO vehicle at IDET, as well as the outdoor exhibition of the German company Rheinmetall with its Boxer 8x8 vehicle, and we also visited the Finnish company Patria, where the AMV XP 8x8 vehicle was on display.

Video: What eight-wheeled armored vehicles could serve in the Czech Army in the future / CZ DEFENCE

Pandur 8x8 EVO

On the very first day of the IDET 2025 trade fair, the Czechoslovak Group (CSG) stand hosted the launch of the new Pandur 8x8 EVO vehicle, attended by, among others, Minister of Defense Jana Černochová, Chief Director of the Industrial Cooperation Section of the Ministry of Defense Radka Konderlová, Director of the Communication and Information Systems Section of the Ministry of Defense Brigadier General Petr Šnajdárek, and Chairman of the Defense Industry Section of the Chamber of Commerce of the Czech Republic Lubomír Kovařík.

This is a completely new generation of armored vehicle that brings fundamental modernization features in line with the requirements of the modern battlefield. The Pandur 8x8 EVO is the result of the work of developers and specialists at Tatra Defence Vehicle (part of the CSG Group), who also collaborated with experts from partner company GDELS-Steyr, and was designed with the needs of the Czech Army in mind. However, the platform also has export potential.

The Pandur 8x8 EVO is a fully Czech product in terms of production and delivery, and is the result of domestic development. Unlike the previous KBVP Pandur II 8x8 CZ vehicles, which are currently in service with the Czech Army, the UT30MK2 turret for the KBVP Pandur 8x8 EVO will also be of Czech origin, as Elbit will transfer the technology and know-how required for complete production to the Czech Republic, specifically to Tatra Defence Vehicle.

Among other things, the Pandur 8x8 EVO is protected by the proven Iron Fist system, which is capable of detecting incoming threats using radar sensors with electronic beam deflection, which can also be supplemented with infrared detectors or an active jamming system. The system eliminates threats using a pair of rotating double-barreled defensive ammunition launchers located on the weapon station. The vehicle is also equipped with an electronic situational awareness system with artificial intelligence elements connected to a whole range of display elements, including helmet displays for the crew and its own unmanned drone, which can serve as a reconnaissance device or guided ammunition.

Boxer 8x8

The German eight-wheeled armored vehicle Boxer 8x8 was on display in Rheinmetall's outdoor exhibition. Boxer is a proven platform that is (or will be) introduced in several other armies (the Netherlands, Lithuania, Great Britain, etc.) in addition to the Bundeswehr. The advantage of this platform is its high modularity, which allows the vehicle to be modified in various ways to meet the specific needs of the army (KBPV, APC, MEDEVAC, REB, etc.).

A weapon station in the form of a remotely controlled TURRA 30-SA combat turret was then installed on the vehicle, which, with the help of a multi-purpose multisensor system, is able to detect and respond to various threats (including unmanned aerial vehicles) in a timely manner, which it can also eliminate using a 30 mm cannon or, for example, SPIKE LR2 anti-tank missiles.

AMV XP 8x8

We also stopped by Patria, which was exhibiting its AMV XP 8x8 vehicle. At the Finnish manufacturer's stand, we were told that the Patria AMV XP is a proven combat vehicle currently used by many armies, including those of our neighboring countries, such as Poland and Slovakia. A total of over 1,600 AMV vehicles of various types have been ordered by nine countries, and more than 1,300 have already been manufactured. The maximum total weight of the vehicle is 32 tons, which provides the user with high load capacity, modularity, and a very high level of ballistic and mine protection for the crew. The vehicle can also provide a wide range of hard-kill and soft-kill protection systems, such as the new C-UAV system, which was developed in response to the war in Ukraine. Thanks to Patria's proven systems in technology transfer, localization, and life-cycle support, it is possible, according to the Finnish manufacturer, to obtain independent Czech support capacity (security of supply) for AMV XP vehicles. We also learned that, if deemed appropriate, Patria vehicles can be fully manufactured and maintained by Czech industry under a licensing model that also allows for local designs for potential additional features and capabilities.

In addition to the technical parameters and capabilities of the vehicles, the Czech Army, or rather the Ministry of Defense, will certainly take into account the highest possible involvement of the Czech defense industry, not only in production but also in the subsequent maintenance of the vehicles. As representatives of both the Army and the Ministry of Defense have emphasized repeatedly, in the current security climate, we should strive to be as independent as possible from foreign supplies and to fully utilize the capabilities of the domestic defense industry.

You can find out more about the three armored vehicles mentioned above in our report at the beginning of this article.