The 14th annual GLOBSEC Security Forum, an international Europe-wide conference on global security, economic and environmental issues, took place in Bratislava, Slovakia from 6 to 8 May. The industrial holding Czechoslovak Group has been an exclusive partner of the event which promotes democracy, human rights and international cooperation within NATO and the EU. The engagement confirms the importance CSG places on mutual projects with partners in Western Europe and the U.S., which depend on a functioning Euro-Atlantic global security partnership.

In the West, CSG has had several very important partnerships in strategic security projects. For instance, the company has acquired an exclusive license to produce and service the Pandur II 8x8 CZ armored personnel carriers from its partner, General Dynamics European Land Systems (the European part of GD Corporation's focused on the land systems).

For the American company Raytheon, the Czechoslovak Group provides for helicopter pilot trainings in its Slovak Training Academy subsidiary, which is the only private entity in Europe to operate the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter in its fleet.

Also, the production of a MRAP category six wheeled armored personnel carrier on a Tatra chassis called TITUS may serve as an example of an international defense industry cooperation project within the European Union. TITUS was created thanks to the collaboration of the French arms factory Nexter Systems and the Czech car manufacturer TATRA TRUCKS, which supplied a special version of its unique chassis with a central carrier tube. This chassis type possesses the world's best performance on difficult terrain, and it is therefore also suitable for military or fire-fighting use.

“Thanks to these strategic partnerships, we have successfully transferred the Western know-how and products to Central Europe. We have been working hard to make it work in the opposite direction too, so that the excellent products of the Czech and Slovak defense industries may find their way to the markets in Western Europe and the U.S.,” Michal Strnad, Czechoslovak Group owner said.

An establishment of CSG U.S.A. in the fall of 2018, with an experienced U.S. Army retired manager and colonel Charles Dalcourt as its head, represents an important step in this direction. “We can see a real demand in the U.S. market for some unique Czech technologies. For example, ReTWis, a unique small portable radar detecting living entities behind a wall produced by RETIA, is attractive to police units at federal, state and local levels. Tatra chassis, which brings mobility not only to the armed forces, but also to the fire brigade, is another example of an attractive Czech technology,” says Charles Dalcourt, who heads the U.S. office of CSG in Tampa, Florida.

“CSG is a pro-Western-oriented industrial group that identifies with the democratic values of the Euro-Atlantic civilization and whose Euro-Atlantic bond is extremely important for its business. That is why we participate in and support the GLOBSEC Security Forum,” Michal Strnad concludes.