Latest news with #Leopard2A8
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Netherlands buys 46 Leopard tanks from KNDS for more than $1 billion
PARIS — The Netherlands signed a contract to buy 46 Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks from French-German defense firm KNDS for more than €1 billion (US$1.1 billion), following through on a plan to re-establish a heavy armor component for its land forces. The Dutch are buying the tanks from KNDS Deutschland through the framework contract established by Germany's Bundeswehr equipment office, with an option for an additional six tanks, according to statements from the Ministry of Defense and KNDS on Wednesday. The first tank will be handed over in 2028, with deliveries finalized in 2031, according to the Netherlands. 'With the current threat of large-scale conflict, the tank is an indispensable tool,' Dutch State Secretary for Defence Gijs Tuinman said. 'A force that, combined with smart tactics, is difficult to stop. The Leopard remains the king of the battlefield.' The Dutch disbanded their last tank battalions in 2011 during an era of defense cuts, selling their remaining Leopard 2A6 tanks to Finland in 2014. The Netherlands have been leasing 2A6 tanks from Germany since 2015, providing one of the four companies in the mixed German-Dutch 414 Tank Battalion based at Germany's Bergen-Hohne military training area. The new fully Dutch battalion will remain based at Bergen-Hohne, where the Dutch says there is enough space for realistic training, something that is lacking in the Netherlands, one of Europe's most densely populated countries. The Leopard 2 is used by 15 European countries, according to KNDS. The Netherlands said the fact that other countries such as Lithuania, Norway and Sweden have ordered the Leopard makes international cooperation easier. The Leopard is 'the best tank available,' Tuinman said, describing the tracked vehicle as 'pure combat power,' with advanced systems and sensors creating a unit with 'formidable firepower.' The 2A8 features significant improvements compared to the version operated previously by the Dutch, with an improved barrel, better protection against improvised explosive devices, superior sensors, active protection and an upgraded transmission, according to the ministry. The 2A8 version of the Leopard will be fitted with an active protection system, the MoD said, without providing details. In Germany's case, that's the EuroTrophy system developed by Israel's Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and designed as a hard-kill measure against anti-tank missiles. The Dutch plan to include an unmanned component in the future tank battalion, which will still have about 500 troops, according to the ministry. The Netherlands will decide in 2027 whether to exercise the option for an additional six tanks. The total budget, including spare parts, specialized tools, factory training and documentation amounts to between €1 billion and €2.5 billion, the Dutch MoD said. The Netherlands is also buying four Leopard 2A8 driver training vehicles. The Netherlands had announced its tank-buying plans in September, as part of increased defense spending, providing details on the future tank fleet the next month. The country increased its 2025 defense budget to €22 billion from €21.4 billion last year, with plans to go to around €24 billion a year. The Netherlands also signed a contract for Saab's Carl Gustav M4 anti-tank weapon, with first deliveries planned by the end of this year and continuing through to 2028. The M4 will replace the Panzerfaust-3 in service with the Dutch forces, which the MoD says has a maximum range of 600 meters and has become obsolete.
Reuters
14-05-2025
- Automotive
- Reuters
Netherlands agrees to buy at least 46 Leopard 2A8 tanks from KNDS
AMSTERDAM, May 14 (Reuters) - The Dutch government said on Wednesday it had signed an agreement to buy at least 46 Leopard 2A8 tanks from German-French arms maker KNDS as the Netherlands builds a tank unit for the first time in over a decade. The tanks will be delivered between 2028 and 2031 and form part of a push by the Dutch to increase military spending in order to comply with the NATO target of spending at least 2% of GDP on defence. The new tank battalion, which could be expanded with another six tanks, will be stationed in Germany and include around 500 soldiers, the government said in a statement.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Netherlands agrees to buy at least 46 Leopard 2A8 tanks from KNDS
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - The Dutch government said on Wednesday it had signed an agreement to buy at least 46 Leopard 2A8 tanks from German-French arms maker KNDS as the Netherlands builds a tank unit for the first time in over a decade. The tanks will be delivered between 2028 and 2031 and form part of a push by the Dutch to increase military spending in order to comply with the NATO target of spending at least 2% of GDP on defence. The new tank battalion, which could be expanded with another six tanks, will be stationed in Germany and include around 500 soldiers, the government said in a statement.
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Lithuania buys more weapons, beckons their makers to invest locally
WARSAW, Poland — Amid a surge in defense spending across Eastern Europe, Lithuania is advancing plans to purchase Leopard 2A8 tanks and CV90 infantry fighting vehicles while making efforts to attract investors that will develop its own defense industry. Giedrimas Jeglinskas, the chairman of the Lithuanian parliament's Committee on National Security and Defence, told Defense News the country's authorities have decided to increase its level of military expenditure to between 5% and 6% of its GDP from 2026 to 2030. This would place the nation atop of NATO in terms of spending. Similarly to the other two Baltic states, Estonia and Latvia, Lithuania has boosted its military expenditure in the aftermath of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. 'Our capability target is a division that we need to arm to make it a reality, so we need to increase spending to speed up the development of divisional assets. We need tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, air defense and some other high-tech assets to ensure this division's readiness,' Jeglinskas said. 'We need to arrive at the level which will allow us to deter potential aggression,'he added. In December 2024, Lithuanian Defence Minister Dovilė Šakalienė inked a contract to buy 44 Leopard 2A8 tanks during an official visit to Germany. In Berlin, Šakalienė met with German officials to discuss issues related to the two nations' defense cooperation, including the heavy maneuver brigade of 4,800 personnel that the German Armed Forces, the Bundeswehr, is to deploy to Lithuania in the summer of 2025. The move is designed to bolster NATO's eastern flank. Last year, the State Defence Council, Lithuania's top defense decision-making body, authorized the country's National Defence Ministry to also kick off the acquisition of tracked CV90s, which are made by BAE Systems Hägglunds. In 2025, Lithuania's defense spending is to total some €3.2 billion ($3.5 billion), or around 3.9% of the country's GDP, according to data from the National Defence Ministry. Alongside their work to equip the new Infantry Division with new gear, Lithuanian officials are also developing a program similar to Estonia's initiative to lure weapon and ammunition makers to its Ämari military base. As part of these efforts, Germany's Rheinmetall is carrying out a project to build a new ammunition plant in Lithuania, and Vilnius hopes to attract more defense industry players. The Lithuanian Ministry of Economy and Innovation 'and the Ministry of National Defence are working tandem on the so-called Green Corridor to attract investors. Rheinmetall is one of those deals, and more producers are coming, as we're holding talks with several manufacturers of explosives,' according to Jeglinskas, who represents the co-ruling Union of Democrats for Lithuania. In November 2024, Rheinmetall launched the construction of a plant to make 155 mm artillery ammunition in Lithuania. Located in Baisogala, the factory is to commence operations in mid-2026. As part of the €180 million investment, around 150 jobs are to be created locally. 'A state-of-the-art production facility, including a shell manufacturing and load assembly pack, is being built in the municipality on an area of around 340 hectares,' the German company said in a statement. Once completed, the plant 'will be able to produce tens of thousands of 155 mm calibre artillery shells per year.' Jeglinskas said the Lithuanian government's responsibility is to support potential investors with a wide range of assistance, including financial aid, to attract more defense-focused investments. 'It's the government's role; the government needs to put money into certain companies, and state capital is needed is push forward such investments that are of strategic importance to Lithuania and its security,' the lawmaker said. Meanwhile, in Estonia, the country's authorities are making efforts to settle producers of weapons, ammunition and equipment in different locations across the country. In addition to the defense industry park in Ämari, a larger defense park is to be made available for manufacturing projects by both domestic and foreign defense companies. The national park's location is yet to be decided. Public tenders to select investors are scheduled for 2025, representatives of the Estonian Centre for Defence Investments (ECDI), the country's military procurement agency, told Defense News.
