Germany wants to buy Leopard 2 tanks from Switzerland

Germany wants to buy 1980s Leopard battle tanks from Switzerland.

A corresponding request was sent to the Swiss Ministry of Defense, the Blick newspaper reports.

The old tanks are to replace the combat vehicles that Germany and other EU countries will send to Ukraine. How many pieces of equipment Germany plans to buy in Switzerland is not reported.

It is known that Switzerland has 230 Leopard 2 tanks, of which 134 are in service with the Swiss army, 96 are officially decommissioned, but can be used. The final decision on their sale to third countries must be taken by the country’s parliament.

According to Blick, the Swiss army has already started considering a corresponding application from the German government.

A spokesman for the Swiss Defense Ministry said the country’s army could give up a limited number of main battle tanks. We are talking about 34 mothballed tanks, which she needs for her own defense needs.

A prerequisite for the implementation of such an agreement should be an official decision of the Swiss Parliament.

Military notes that Switzerland cannot directly transfer weapons to Ukraine through neutrality, however, in early February, Bloomberg reported that the country was considering sending its military equipment to Ukraine’s allies so that they could transfer similar weapons to Kiev from their own stocks.

Then, according to the publication, some Swiss politicians called for the sale of Leopard 2 for a nominal price to Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic to replace the tanks planned by their governments to be sent to Ukraine.

Currently, the Swiss armed forces are armed with about 300 Leopard 2A4 tanks. Most of them are made in Switzerland under license and only 35 tanks were purchased directly from Germany.

Source: Racurs

David

I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.