By Ellie CookShareNewsweek is a Trust Project memberEuropean defense company KNDS has formally unveiled its new Leopard 2A8 main battle tank, which will be deployed with German forces in Lithuania as the continent steps up its presence on NATO's eastern flank bordering Russia.
The tank was formally rolled out in the German city of Munich on November 19 in a ceremony attended by German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius.
The design is entirely new, rather than an update on previous platforms, according to its developers. The tank, like older Leopards, is fitted with a 120 mm smooth-bore main cannon and two 7.62mm machine guns.
Why It Matters
European countries have long used different versions of the Leopard tank, and several nations donated dozens of Leopard 1 and 2s to Ukraine's war effort in the years since Russia's full-scale invasion in early 2022. Several NATO nations on the continent have each placed orders for dozens of Leopard 2A8s.
...What To Know
Germany has ordered 123 Leopard 2A8s for its armed forces and is expected to have the first platforms operational in 2027 after more tests. Berlin is already modernizing its existing fleet to the Leopard 2A7A1, and will have a total of 430 main battle tanks when the last 28As are delivered in 2030.
The Netherlands in May said it would buy at least 46 Leopard 2A8 tanks, the first to be handed over to the Dutch military in 2028. The country, which does not currently operate its own main battle tanks, said it will decide in 2027 whether to add another six tanks onto its order.
The Czech Republic, Sweden and Lithuania have each ordered 44 Leopard 2A8s, and Sweden has committed to buying 54 of the advanced platforms. Croatia has also approved plans to buy 44 2A8s.
Germany's chancellor, Friedrich Merz, inaugurated the country's Panzerbrigade 45, or Armored Brigade 45, in Lithuania back in May, marking the first time in decades Berlin has permanently deployed troops abroad since World War II. The brigade will be 5,000-strong by 2027 and will be the first troops to receive the Leopard 2A8s.
Germany deploys around 1,000 soldiers in the Baltic state under NATO's enhanced forward presence, which make up part of the Panzerbrigade 45.
NATO has for years deployed multinational forces in the Baltic states and Poland to deter Russian attacks on the eastern flank. The U.S. leads the multinational presence in Poland, while the U.K. heads up NATO's footprint in Estonia and Canada oversees alliance forces in Latvia.
What People Are Saying
Ralf Ketzel, the chief executive of KNDS in Germany, said the unveiling of the Leopard 2A8 was a "milestone both for the rapid and modern equipping of the German Armed Forces and for the excellent and close cooperation within Europe in the field of land systems."
"The ‘Leo’ will strengthen the [German] brigade in Lithuania and will also be procured by other Allies," Germany's delegation to NATO said in a post to social media.
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