Procurement of helicopters for the Czech Police Aviation Service delayed by eight years. Prague hangar has been in a state of disrepair for 20 years
PRESS RELEASE ON AUDIT NO 25/12 – 29 JUNE 2026
For eight years now, the Czech Police Aviation Service (CPAS) should have been operating at least three new light helicopters to provide a 24-hour search and rescue standby service, as well as at least two heavy-lift helicopters capable of transporting entire specialist police or fire brigade units. An audit by the Supreme Audit Office (SAO) found that, as of December 2025, the Ministry of the Interior (MoI), under which the CPAS operates, still did not have these helicopters at its disposal. The long-standing objective, set out in several Czech Police strategic plans, has not been fulfilled by the MoI, despite the fact that it has repeatedly identified the modernisation of the CPAS as a priority. In addition to helicopters, the CPAS also operates 70 unmanned aerial vehicles – drones. According to the SAO, these were procured effectively. The audit also found that the hangar at the CPAS's main air base in Prague has been in a state of disrepair for the past 20 years.
The CPAS currently operates 15 helicopters (six Bell 412s and nine Eurocopter EC135s). Their average age is 20 years, with some having been in service for more than 32 years. Although the MoI spent a total of CZK 1.3 billion on the CPAS between 2021 and 2025, 97% of these funds went towards routine operating expenditure. Only 3%, just over CZK 44 million, was allocated to investment. These funds were used, for example, to procure a flight simulator for police training and the aforementioned drones.
As the MoI did not procure the planned light helicopters in 2018, it failed to create the conditions necessary to ensure a fully operational 24-hour standby service or to increase the number of possible night flights, as had already been envisaged in the document Concept of Development of the Police of the Czech Republic through 2020. The CPAS still has only one helicopter capable of night-time operations. Its operational capability therefore remains limited.
During the SAO audit, a procurement procedure was under way for the delivery of 11 light helicopters, with the delivery deadline set for 2030. However, under the Concept of Development of CPAS through 2032, the MoI should have launched this procurement procedure in 2023 and signed the contract the following year. "The fact that, immediately after the SAO audit had been completed, specifically in March this year, the MoI signed a contract for the purchase of 11 light multi-purpose helicopters for the CPAS demonstrates that the SAO’s findings helped accelerate efforts to finally complete the long-delayed modernisation of the CPAS," said SAO Board Member Ladislava Slancová, who led the audit.
Another objective that remained unfulfilled was the MoI’s goal of ensuring sufficient air transport capacity. The CPAS currently operates only helicopters with a maximum passenger capacity of 13 and a maximum payload of 5 tonnes. The MoI has yet to procure the required heavy-lift helicopters capable of carrying up to 25 people and with a maximum payload of 12 to 15 tonnes. As a result, operations such as the response to the shooting in Uherský Brod, where an entire police unit had to be transported, still require the deployment of two helicopters.
And what about the CPAS’s facilities? The audit revealed that the hangar at the main air base in Prague has been in a state of disrepair for 20 years. Its poor condition had already been highlighted by an SAO audit in 2006. The situation has not changed since then, even though the MoI has been identifying the renovation of the existing hangar or the construction of a new one as a priority in its strategic plans for the past 20 years. However, the MoI has not yet implemented the investment, and addressed the situation only through partial, temporary repairs. The current project to build a new hangar, scheduled for completion by the end of 2027, is facing challenges related to unresolved property rights issues concerning the land affected by the construction.
As regards the drones, the SAO concludes that the MoI spent the funds on their procurement effectively. During the audited period, they were used predominantly for the needs of the Czech Police (96%). Drone operation records show that more than 70% of flights were carried out for monitoring purposes, while the second most common purpose was pilot training (17%).
Communication Department
Supreme Audit Office