The Czech army is to buy 20 Pandur-II armoured vehicles from Tatra Defence Vehicle for 2.1 billion crowns ($82.77 million), the Czech Defence Ministry said on Monday, marking the second major deal for the defence company.

The 8x8 wheeled vehicles will include six command and 14 communications vehicles and will be delivered in 2019-2020, Tatra said, adding to 107 Pandurs already in service.

Tatra, which began production last May, signed its first deal to sell Pandur vehicles last year with the Indonesian army.

Czechs, NATO members since 1999, plan to increase their defence spending to 1.4 percent of gross domestic product in 2020 from current just over 1 percent, still below the NATO goal of at least 2 percent. New U.S. President Donald Trump has put pressure on NATO allies to increase their defence budgets.

Czechoslovak Group (CSG), an umbrella company which includes Tatra Defence Vehicle, acquired an exclusive licence to produce Pandur-II carriers from U.S. company General Dynamics in 2016, CSG spokesman Andrej Cirtek said.

Source: reuters.com