The Czech defence ministry said Friday it had signed a deal with France to buy another 10 Caesar howitzer cannons on top of 52 it had agreed to buy earlier.
The Czech Republic, a NATO member since 1999, will buy the 10 howitzers made by France's Nexter Systems for 1.77 billion korunas ($77.5 million).
The value of the entire supply of 62 howitzers is 10.3 billion korunas ($451 million), the Czech defence ministry said in a statement, adding the weapons should be supplied by end-2026.
The initial deal on the 52 howitzers was signed in September 2021, before Russia invaded Ukraine in February this year.
In the Czech army, the 155-milimetre Caesar howitzers will replace the obsolete Czech-made DANA system which is more than four decades old and whose calibre does not meet NATO standards.
The French Army has been using the 155-millimetre Caesar cannons with a range of 40 kilometres (nearly 25 miles) since 2008.
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