The domestically developed Morana howitzer has succeeded in Latvia, and Tatra truck chassis are competing for a United States Army programme to build a new wheeled howitzer, according to Lidové noviny.

Yet the Czech army is still waiting for troop trials to begin on the French-made Caesar self-propelled howitzers it ordered for itself, the same report notes.

HYPOTHESIS: The gap points to weak coordination between Czech defence procurement and domestic industry, not a lack of capability. Supporting this: the Morana and Tatra successes show the industry delivers on schedule when foreign buyers are involved. Against this: a single delayed contract is not proof of a systemic pattern, and procurement delays are common across NATO regardless of where the equipment is built.

The mismatch matters beyond Prague. European governments have pledged since 2022 to rebuild depleted artillery stocks, yet national procurement bureaucracies are routinely outpaced by their own arms industries, weakening NATO's readiness even as export order books fill.

What to watch: whether the Czech defence ministry sets a start date for Caesar troop trials, and whether Tatra secures the US wheeled-howitzer contract — a win that would be awkward to explain at home if the Caesar delay continues.