The Netherlands to finance the production of mobile air defense systems for Ukraine

The Netherlands will pay for the production of mobile anti-aircraft systems for air defense of Ukraine.

These weapons will be produced in the Czech Republic, České noviny (ČTK) reports.

These air defense systems could be particularly useful in fighting against Iranian kamikaze drones used by Russia.

In addition, the Netherlands will purchase the necessary ammunition for these systems from Czech defense companies.

The Netherlands will pay for one hundred such mobile anti-aircraft systems, said Ales Vytechka, chef of the Intergovernmental Defense Cooperation Agency (AMOS).

According to the media, this regards the Viktor mobile anti-aircraft system by the Excalibur Army company. Under the “Gift to Putin” initiative, Czech volunteers have collected funds for 15 such systems for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The system is to be mounted on Toyota pickups with a front crew cabin and a rear cargo compartment.

A 14.5-mm anti-aircraft machine gun is mounted on the vehicle. These rapid-fire 14.5 mm machine guns have a ready-to-fire supply of 300 rounds in magazines and another 300 rounds in spare magazines. It is stated that the effective firing range exceeds 2 kilometres.

The use of a Toyota pickup chassis allows a high level of mobility on the road and in off-road conditions.

The Viktor machine gun is equipped with a day and night anti-aircraft sight, as well as a sight for direct fire on ground targets.

Although the partners are providing Ukraine with modern anti-aircraft missile systems, the missiles are expensive and it is irrational to shoot down cheap Iranian-made drones with them. Therefore, following the consultations with Ukraine and the Czech defense industry, the Czech Republic offered the Netherlands to participate in the project of production and delivery of Viktor anti-aircraft systems to Ukraine. They can effectively fight drones using commonly available and cheap ammunition.

The contract with the Czech company has already been signed, but for security reasons, the Czech Ministry of Defense and the arms companies do not disclose all the details.