Excalibur Army modernizes 90 tanks for Ukraine

The Czech Excalibur Army company restores and modernizes Т-72 tanks for Ukraine.

The tanks are being worked on at a factory in the city of Sternberk.

After the outbreak of war, when the Czech Republic decided to provide Ukraine with military assistance, the Excalibur Army plant had to increase its staff by 150 people.

In particular, refugees from Ukraine work at their factory.

At the moment, one of the main tasks at the Sternberk plant is modernization of the tanks.

Around ninety tanks are now being recycled for Ukraine.

They literally have to be purchased around the world, many used to be stored in the open while their components were taken off for sale.

Modernization of one tank takes from several weeks to several months, primarily due to the poor condition of the machines themselves.

Modernization

Employees say that sometimes they do not just upgrade the tanks for Ukraine, but have to build them “from scratch.”

At the factory, the tanks are installed night vision devices, thermal imagers, communication systems, and automation, which facilitates control.

The machines also receive reactive armor.

In addition, outdated devices and optics should disappear from the vehicles.

“They have reactive armor – these are these boxes on the armor, they have to minimize the consequences of firing at the tank. Judging by the inscriptions, this Т-72 was in service with the Slovak army,” says Richard Kubena, commercial director of Excalibur army.

The Czech enterprise classified a complete list of specific equipment of the modernized machines.

However, the representatives of the plant note that although such modernization crucially changes the capabilities of the Т-72 tank, it does not transform it to another vehicle.

A tanker can be allowed to control the tank after several days of training.

It should be reminded that in early November it became known that the United States and the Netherlands would finance the transfer to Ukraine of the full restored tanks in the Czech Republic Т-72.

The United States will pay for the restoration of 45 units and the Dutch government will pay for a further restoration of another 45 tanks totaling approximately $90 million.

Some of the tanks will be at the disposal of Ukraine by the end of December 2022, the rest of the deliveries will be completed in 2023.