At the recent MSPO 2025 international defense industry trade fair in Kielce, Poland, we spoke with Czech defense industry representatives as well as several foreign companies whose technology was developed in cooperation with Czech companies, or whose products are set to become part of the Czech Army's arsenal in the future.

Video: Presentation of foreign companies at MSPO 2025 and their links to the Czech Armed Forces / CZ DEFENCE

As part of the outdoor exhibition, we were intrigued by the Ukrainian 155mm self-propelled howitzer Bohdana on a Tatra 8x8 chassis. In a subsequent interview, we were told that the Tatra chassis is a very reliable platform.

At the Rheinmetall stand, we focused on the AEV3 Kodiak armored engineering vehicle, which the Czech Army is set to acquire in the future as an escort vehicle (along with the BPz3 Büffel armored recovery vehicle and the Leguan bridge system) in connection with the purchase of new Leopard 2A8 tanks.

The Kodiak vehicle, based on the Leopard 2 tank chassis, can quickly create barriers to effectively prevent the movement of enemy units. Enemy barriers can be removed just as quickly to allow the movement of friendly combat units. The vehicle is equipped with several special engineering tools that are controlled from the inside, providing the crew with maximum protection in combat conditions.

With effective anti-drone protection remaining a hot topic in the defense industry, the modern Skyranger system — combining missile and gun weapons with a very high rate of fire — could not be overlooked.

Part of the extensive presentation by Polish arms group PGZ was the MTV 6x6 Heron armored vehicle from Huta Stalowa Wola. This is essentially the Czech TADEAS vehicle from Tatra Defense, which will be manufactured under license in Poland (except for the Tatra 6x6 chassis) for the Polish armed forces.

BAE Systems’ Head of Communications for Europe and America briefed us on current projects — not only those involving the Polish Army.