The Kraus-Maffei Wegmann company said it had signed a contract for the Leopard 2A8 tanks with the federal office of military equipment. The new tanks will start shipping in 2025.
The German armed forces have ordered 18 new Leopard 2 tanks to replace the vehicles that were shipped to Ukraine earlier this year, a defense firm said on Friday.
The Kraus-Maffei Wegmann company said it had signed a contract for the Leopard 2A8 tanks with the federal office of military equipment, but did not provide financial details.
The budget committee of the German parliament approved on Wednesday financing of about 525 million euros. The company said delivery of the new tanks is scheduled to start in 2025 and the deal includes options for a further 105 Leopard 2A8 tanks.
Kraus-Maffei Wegmann will also produce 12 new howitzers for the German army as part of an option agreed in March, the company said.
Germany’s defense minister has pushed for new tanks to be purchased as quickly as possible after the government agreed in late January to supply Ukraine with 14 Leopard 2A6 main battle tanks.
That number increased a few weeks later to 18, when Germany and other countries agreed to assemble two Leopard 2 tank battalions for kyiv. Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands also decided to supply Ukraine with refurbished Leopard 1 tanks, an older model that the German military has not used for two decades. Portugal, in turn, made available three Leopard 2A6 tanks.
Source: Observadora
