Germany will purchase Leopard 2A8 tanks for the first time

The German government plans to purchase 18 Leopard 2 tanks to replace the Leopard 2A6, which the country has already transferred to Ukraine as part of a military aid package, Bloomberg reports with reference to sources in the Ministry of Defense.

The budget committee in the lower house of parliament is expected to approve the initial order of 18 tanks — worth about €525 million — at the end of this month.

The Bundeswehr is poised to order 18 Leopard 2 tanks with an option for 105 more at a total cost of around €2.9 billion.

According to the German publication Europaische Sicherheit & Technik, the Bundeswehr will for the first time order the Leopard 2A8 tanks produced by the German Krauss-Maffei Wegmann. The new tanks should enter the German army as early as 2025.

A day earlier, on May 11, the German government approved the purchase of 50 Puma infantry fighting vehicles at a cost of €1.5 billion, and Defense Minister Boris Pistorius raised the prospect of another order later this year.

The contract for the Puma infantry fighting vehicles includes an option for 61 additional units, taking the total ordered to 111.

The ordering of large batches of armored vehicles is to take place within the framework of Germany’s new military modernization policy that was triggered by the Russian-Ukrainian war. After Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced the creation of a special defense fund of 100 billion euros to compensate for the chronic underfunding of the German army in the past.

Leopard 2А8

Leopard 2A8 is a modern main battle tank developed by the German company Krauss Maffei Wegmann.

The Leopard 2A8 is based on the Leopard 2A7, but received a number of improvements such as the integration of the Trophy active protection system and an all-round situational awareness system.

Trophy active protection system is designed to protect the tank from the attack of anti-tank missiles. The system creates a controlled hemisphere above the tank, in the area of which radars track potential threats, if detected, they are destroyed by the automatic firing counter-measures.

The system consists of several EL/M-2133 radars, which detect and identify missiles aimed at the tank, actuate launchers that fire the counter-measures that destroys the warhead before it hits.

Leopard 2A8 is also equipped with passive armor of the latest generation and protection of the bottom of the hull, which protects the crew in case of encountering mines and improvised explosive devices. The tank was able to install additional modules of overhanging armor or anti-RPG protection systems.

The Leopard 2A8 can be fitted with thick composite armor modules along the sides of the turret and the hull. Armor modules provide protection against RPG-7, which, depending on the ammunition, can penetrate up to 600 millimeters of steel armor.

The main armament for serial versions of the Leopard 2A8 is the Rh-120 L/55 120-mm smoothbore gun by the Rheinmetall, with a barrel length of 55 calibers.

The tank is equipped with a modern EMES 15 fire control system with a stabilized main sight and double zoom. The primary sight has an integrated laser rangefinder and a Zeiss thermal imaging camera, both of which are connected to the tank’s fire control computer.

The commander has a stabilized panoramic periscopic sight Rheinmetall/Zeiss PERI-R 17 A2, designed for day/night observation and target identification. It provides a circular view with 360° rotation.