Visegrad Group moves into collective procurement
Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia are starting small with a joint move to buy training ammunition — but their ambitions are broader.
The so-called V4 Group (or Visegrad Group) of four NATO allies —the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia — have formally agreed to procure ammunition jointly for their armed forces.
National armaments directors from the four countries on 28 January signed a Letter of Intent, in which they stated that ammunition will be acquired via the NATO Support and Procurement Agency.
The four countries initially want to buy more than 300,000 rounds of 9x19 FX (blue and red cartridge) small arms training ammunition.
As a next step, the Czech MoD noted on 2 February, an official request for co-operation will be sent to NSPA. Ammunition orders will then be despatched to individual MoDs.
Czech defence minister Lubomir Metnar signalled the move for joint defence equipment procurement in September 2019. At the time, he said: ‘We refrained from exaggerated ambitions and plans. We want to start with something real, and that is the joint purchase of ammunition.’
However, V4 members hope this initial project will serve as a springboard for more demanding procurement programmes in future.
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