Europe

Export license granted for “Leopard 1” tank

The federal government has issued an export license for Leopard 1 battle tanks to Ukraine. This was confirmed by government spokesman Hebestreit without giving any further details.

The federal government has approved the transfer of “Leopard 1” battle tanks from industrial stocks to Ukraine. Corresponding media reports confirmed government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit in Berlin. He did not give any details about the approval, such as the number of tanks. This will become “more concrete in the next few days and weeks”.

Apparently problems with ammunition procurement

According to the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”, the armaments group Rheinmetall and the Flensburger Fahrzeugbau Gesellschaft (FFG) want to prepare dozens of “Leopard 1” tanks and could supply them to Ukraine for the fight against Russia. According to the report, however, there are still problems in obtaining the required 105-millimeter ammunition.

Although Brazil still has large stocks of ammunition due to the delivery of around 250 “Leopard” tanks from Germany, the government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has so far refused to pass it on, as it did with the ammunition for the “Gepard” anti-aircraft tank.

The “Leopard 1” is the first main battle tank built for the Bundeswehr after the Second World War. It was produced between the mid 1960s and mid 1980s. The Bundeswehr had already retired the “Leopard 1” in 2003. Compared to the “Leopard 2”, the previous model “could not keep up at all,” said a spokesman for the Federal Ministry of Defense.

Last week, the federal government decided to deliver 14 Leopard 2 A6 main battle tanks to Ukraine. They come from the stock of the Bundeswehr. Federal Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has promised to retrofit the tanks with more modern Type 2A7s as soon as possible.

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