Military truck drivers from the 71st Mechanised Battalion of the Armed Forces of the Czech Republic, based at Hranice, are at present undergoing a retraining exercise on the operation of the Tatra 815 8×8 PRAM trucks.

The trucks, which will replace the older Praga V3S vehicles, were delivered to the unit at the end of 2017. The new trucks are especially designed to transport the PRAM L mortars 120 mm (M M1982).

“The aim of this exercise is to ensure that the drivers are competent not only in how to manoeuvre the new vehicles in various types of terrain, but also capable of carrying out basic maintenance and repairs. The drivers must prove that they can safely operate the vehicle under very specific driving conditions,” explained Master Sergeant Jiri Pospisil, the training coordinator.

This year, one mortar platoon from the 71st Mechanised Battalion will be participating in NATO´s “enhanced Forward Presence” (eFP) in Latvia and Poland.