The Army has recently announced a tender for the purchase of five semi-trailer sets, each consisting of a tractor and a low-loader hydraulically driven special semi-trailer with a total maximum weight of up to 110 tonnes, in order to replace outdated and obsolete equipment and to ensure modern and safe transport of material and military equipment within the Czech Armed Forces units in the performance of their tasks.

Picture: The Army of the Czech Republic wants to acquire a total of five sets with a total weight of up to 110 in order to replace obsolete equipment with new equipment and to ensure modern and safe transport of material and military equipment within the units of the Czech Armed Forces in the performance of their tasks. | Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic

Five cargo sets (consisting of towing vehicles and semi-trailer transporters) with a total maximum weight of 110 tonnes will be used by the soldiers as a replacement for older equipment, thus saving considerable sums of money that are spent annually on external transport companies. The requirements are clear. The combination must meet a maximum height of 3.60 m (railway bridge in Hranice) and a combination length of up to 18 m. The soldiers require the tractor-trailer combination to be supplied in uniform RAL 6003 green colour, only the wheel rims are silver, the sides of the swan neck are silver - anodised aluminium.

The engine must meet the minimum EURO 6 limit and have a power output of at least 470kW, i.e. approximately 630 hp. All this is supplemented by a tank that can hold at least 650 litres of fuel. For optimum steering of the forced steering axles of the semitrailer, the tractor must have a reinforced fifth wheel with a 3.5-inch pivot and a minimum payload of 26 t, and the fifth wheel must be suitable for forced hydraulic steering. For the control of the hydraulic functions of the semitrailer (steering, lifting, etc.) the tractor must be equipped with a complete hydraulic system, i.e. two-line hydraulics (push and return lines).

The driver and passenger will be provided with a relatively good level of comfort in the form of two beds, air conditioning, hands-free kit, as well as independent heating, space for the installation of a radio, navigation, including trucks, maps and a radio with CD/MP3 player. The operator of the vehicle, or rather the unit, will thus have sufficient comfort even for longer distance journeys.

Thanks to the already mentioned railway bridge in Hranice, it can be assumed that the main user of this equipment, which can transport very heavy cargo (typically military equipment such as tanks, BMP-2s, etc.), will be the 7th Mechanised Brigade.