Iveco Defence Vehicles announces that on December 18, 2009 the Czech Army placed order for a further batch of 90 Light Multirole Vehicles (LMV) in 3 different versions to be delivered between 2010 and 2013.

The contract signed now, which also includes related logistics support, is part of a joint purchase project of the Czech and the Slovak army aimed to ensure a better cooperation in their common battlegroups.

Between 2007 and 2009, the Czech army had already ordered 24 vehicles (crew carriers and with 12.7mm Kongsberg remote weapon station). This contract results from the customer's full satisfaction with the performance and reliability of the first vehicles which have been already fielded in Afghanistan and have already proved effective in resisting IED attacks (to date 3 attacks with no casualties).

The LMV was selected for front line duties by the Italian (1260), the British (401 units), the Spanish (135 units), the Norwegian (60 units), the Belgian (440 units), the Croatian (10 units), the Austria (150 units) and Slovak forces (10 units). Other contracts are under negotiation.

Designed to incorporate high tactical mobility with high maximum road speed and optimal off-road and cross-country performance, the LMV has high protection levels against anti tank and anti personnel mines with an emphasis on crew protection rather than vehicle integrity.

High reliability, ease of maintenance and low through life costs were key considerations during the design of LMV. Built in and external diagnostics allow timely identification of impending malfunctions, allowing preventive maintenance to be undertaken, whilst the facility to collect functional data allows effective whole fleet management.

The use of COTS (Commercial off the Shelf) main assemblies such as the gearbox and engine ensures that performance and reliability have been proven over many millions of road miles in demanding environmental conditions. This provides an outstanding level of reliability and consequently excellent fleet availability.

The provision of anti-mine protection has also been given a high priority, with the over-riding aim being to ensure the survival of the crew. To this end, a normal control cab has been used and the results of the latest research into mine protection have been incorporated, including a vee-shaped vehicle bottom. This can be up-armoured as required to meet the appropriate level of threat. The overall structure of the vehicle has been designed in accordance with the ‘crashworthiness' concept. The design of the vehicle itself and the materials which have been used in its construction are specifically designed to manage and absorb the blast energy generated by a mine detonation.