Weapons delivery
Germany is delivering more Leopard tanks to Ukraine
Rheinmetall is to prepare 32 Leopard tanks for the federal government. photo
© Christophe Gateau/dpa
Germany wants to deliver 32 more Leopard tanks to Ukraine next year. The arms company Rheinmetall has received an order for this. These are prepared Leopard models.
The arms company Rheinmetall has received an order from the federal government for 32 Leopard tanks with which the Ukraine should be supported in the war against Russia. The vehicles are scheduled to be delivered next year, according to the company in Düsseldorf. These are Leopard 1A5 tanks, i.e. older models. The order is divided into 25 combat, five recovery and two driving school tanks, which come from industrial waste. According to the information, the order value is in the upper double-digit million euro range, which will pay for training, logistics, spare parts and repair work.
In order to bring the vehicles into shape, they are prepared at the Rheinmetall locations in Unterlüß and Kassel. It is not the first Leopard order for Ukraine from the German arms manufacturer. In June, the Netherlands and Denmark ordered the delivery of 14 tanks of the newer, but already aging, type 2A4; these steel giants are also to be handed over to Ukraine next year. In addition, the Bundeswehr and armies of other NATO countries have already provided the Eastern European state with Leopard tanks from their own stocks.
Buyback of decommissioned models
It is common for tanks to be retired after decades of use and sold to industry at fairly low prices. Then they are usually in poor condition in stock. Such buybacks by the industry are ultimately a bet on the future: the companies expect that there could be demand for military vehicles again at some point. With the war in Ukraine, this calculation paid off. However, modernizing the old steel colossuses is complex. It takes several months until the vehicles are upgraded with new technology and ready for front-line use.
Rheinmetall took a similar approach to Marder infantry fighting vehicles; the group has so far received orders for 80 such vehicles. A large part of them is already in use in Ukraine.