Czechoslovak Group

Origins and expansion, 1995–2018

Jaroslav Strnad founded Excalibur Army in 1995, having previously run a scrapyard. It began by buying and selling surplus military equipmentmade available by the downsizing of armed forces after the Cold War. The company took on repairs and refurbishment. During Jaroslav's time, the company focused on expansion of its business primarily in the Czech Republic and from 2008 also in Slovakia.

In 2013, Excalibur Army bought the military repair works at Šternberk from the state-owned company VOP CZ. In the same year, Strnad and businessman René Matera acquired majority stake in Tatra Trucks. Strnad brought his businesses together under the Excalibur Group holding company in 2014.

Jaroslav’s son Michal became chairman of the holding’s board in October 2015. Excalibur Group was renamed Czechoslovak Group in January 2016. In January 2018, Jaroslav transferred full ownership to Michal.

International expansion, 2019–2025

CSG acquired the Spanish ammunition manufacturer Fábrica de Municiones de Granada in 2020. In 2022, it bought a 70% interest in Fiocchi, an Italian ammunition producer with manufacturing operations in Italy, the United States and the United Kingdom.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, CSG expanded its supplies of military equipment and ammunition to the country. Excalibur Army participated in a programme to refurbish and modernise 90 T-72 tanks, financed jointly by the United States and the Netherlands and coordinated by the Czech Ministry of Defence.

CSG also participated in the Czech-led ammunition initiative launched in 2024, supplying ammunition manufactured by its businesses and ammunition obtained from other producers. Its reported revenue from supplies to Ukraine increased from approximately €400 million in 2023 to €1.7 billion in 2024.

In December 2023, CSG acquired an 80% interest in the Italian sporting and hunting shotgun manufacturer Armi Perazzi. Mauro and Roberta Perazzi, the founder’s children, retained the remaining 20%.

CSG announced its agreement to buy Vista Outdoor’s ammunition business, The Kinetic Group, in October 2023. US politicians, including JD Vance, opposed the sale. It received clearance from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States in June 2024. Vista Outdoor’s shareholders voted in favour that November, and the sale closed on 27 November 2024. The business included the Federal, Remington Ammunition, CCI, Speer and HEVI-Shot brands.

CSG acquired the remaining shares in Fiocchi in April 2025. The following month, it bought the Walsrode industrial park and nitrocellulose plant in Germany, with plans to adapt the plant to produce energetic-grade nitrocellulose for ammunition.

Stock-market listing

On 23 January 2026, shares in CSG N.V. began trading on Euronext Amsterdam. The Netherlands-incorporated company became the group’s listed parent. The offering valued CSG at €25 billion and was the largest defence initial public offering recorded, according to Euronext.

The IPO raised €3.8 billion from the sale of approximately 15.2% of CSG’s shares, including the over-allotment option. CSG received €750 million from issuing new shares. The rest went to CSG FIN, which sold part of its existing holding. Michal Strnad retained control through CSG FIN.

In May 2026, Hunterbrook Media published a report questioning CSG’s business model, ammunition-production capacity and disclosures. Its affiliated investment fund, Hunterbrook Capital, disclosed a short position in CSG shares. CSG disputed the report’s findings and said its prospectus and later disclosures were accurate.

Ammunition and firearms

CSG makes ammunition for armed forces, police, hunters and sport shooters. Fiocchi and The Kinetic Group produce small-calibre ammunition, sold under brands including Federal, Remington Ammunition, CCI, Speer and HEVI-Shot. Armi Perazzi makes sporting and hunting shotguns.

MSM Group and its businesses ZVS Holding, VOP Nováky and FM Granada, produce artillery and tank ammunition and components. They also refurbish older ammunition and dispose of unusable stocks. ZVI specialises in medium-calibre ammunition.

CSG is also expanding its production of materials used in ammunition. Its Walsrode plant in Germany makes industrial-grade nitrocellulose and is being adapted to produce energetic-grade nitrocellulose by the end of 2027. In Greece, Hellenic Ammunition produces 155 mm ammunition at Lavrio, where TNT production is scheduled to resume by the end of 2027.

Land systems

Excalibur Army builds, repairs and modernises military vehicles and artillery. Its range includes tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, self-propelled howitzers, rocket launchers and engineering vehicles. In 2015, the company secured a contract to supply approximately 100 refurbished tanks and infantry fighting vehicles to Iraq for use against the Islamic State.

Tatra Trucks makes heavy trucks for military and civilian customers. It also supplies chassis for armoured vehicles, artillery and other specialised equipment.

Tatra Defence produces armoured vehicles, including the Pandur II through its partnership with General Dynamics European Land Systems and the Titus with KNDS France and Tatra Trucks. In December 2025, KNDS Deutschland contracted the company to make 150 Leopard 2A8 tank hulls, with an option for another 300. Tatra Defence is responsible for welding the hulls, production processes and quality control.

Aerospace and defence electronics

ELDIS Pardubice makes radars, while RETIA develops radars, surveillance equipment and command-and-control systems. RETIA worked with Israel Aerospace Industries and the Czech Military Technical Institute on mobile air-defence radars for the Czech armed forces. CS SOFT and ATRAK develop air-traffic-management software and systems.

Several group companies contribute to Trident, an air-defence system presented at Eurosatory in June 2026. Excalibur International acts as the main systems integrator, RETIA supplies radars and command-and-control equipment, and Tatra companies provide chassis, armoured cabins and launcher structures. Roketsan supplies the surface-to-air missiles.

European Air Services and the Slovak Training Academy in Košice have trained helicopter pilots and ground crews for CSG. Afghan pilots started courses at the academy in 2018 as their air force began using UH-60 Black Hawks.

AviaNera Technologies and its Serbian subsidiary MUST Solutions develop turbojet and turbofan engines for unmanned aircraft. AviaNera began work on a technology centre in the Czech Republic in 2026, where it plans to develop the processes needed to manufacture the engines.

Former holdings