Adazi Training Base gets Czech tanks

RIGA (LETA) – A demonstration March 31 of three T-55 AM2 tanks received from the Czech Republic was held at the Adazi Training Base according to Janis Krastins, spokesman at the Embassy of the Czech Republic.

Czech Ambassador Jana Bulenova and the Latvian Minister of Defense Girts Valdis Kristovskis attended the demonstration to witness tank driving training and practical firing drills.

Czech armed forces experts are working at the Adazi base to assist the National Armed Forces soldiers to master the new equipment, the Defense Ministry's press center reported.

As reported, the National Armed Forces received three T-55 AM2 tanks as a donation from the Czech Republic on March 6. Two of the tanks were made in 1978 and one in 1969. Each tank is equipped with a 100 mm gun, 7.62 mm machine gun and 12.7 mm anti-aircraft gun and weighs 38.5 tons with a maximum speed of 50 kilometers per hour. All three tanks underwent major repairs in 1992 and were modernized.

Although the tanks and armament were a donation, Latvia covered transportation costs. The armed forces will use the tanks for training Latvian soldiers to master combat procedure against armored vehicles.