Military

Czech Republic rolls out protected shelters for expeditionary troops

Czech Army troops deployed on expeditionary undertakings may soon be fielding modular shelters that feature protection against small-arms fire and splinters under an initiative led by the Military Research Institute (Vojensky Vyzkumny Ustav; VVU) in Brno.

Under development since 2014, the existence of these igloo-shaped shelters was only revealed in April 2016 during a blast-resistance test conducted by VVU.

The shelter has been designed for austere and high-threat environments, and typically includes a base structure consisting of aluminium load-bearing beams to which and inner and outer-layer aluminium armour panels are attached.

There is approximately 90 mm of space between the two layers where additional filler material such as corundum balls can be employed to improve the shelter's ability to defeat or reduce the effects of incoming projectiles or shell fragments.