Germany has officially approved the purchase of the first 18 Leopard 2A8 tanks at a cost of €525.6 million and a potential order worth €2.9 billion
A fortnight ago it was reported that Germany plans to order at least 18 Leopard 2A8 tanks. The purchase has been officially approved by the government.
Here's What We Know
Germany's budget committee has approved the purchase of 18 Leopard 2A8 tanks at a cost of €525.6 million ($565 million). There is also an option to buy 105 more combat vehicles, which will increase the total contract value to €2.9 billion ($3.1 billion).
Deliveries of the tanks will start no later than 2026. The purchase of the combat vehicles will not be financed from a €100bn ($107.3bn) fund, but from Germany's current budget.
In conclusion we would like to add that the German company Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) brought the first Leopard 2A8 demonstrator to the Czech Republic at the IDET 2023 exhibition. By the way, the Czech Republic intends to order 70 tanks.