Croatia Will Receive New Leopards From Germany And Send Old Tanks To Ukraine

The Republic of Croatia will deliver to Ukraine part of its tanks and combat vehicles of Eastern production, and the amount of financial resources that the Republic of Croatia will receive from Germany for the delivery will reduce the price of the new Leopard 2A8

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Ivan Anušić, as part of his visit to the Federal Republic of Germany, together with the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia, Colonel-General Tihomir Kundid, met on Monday, October 28, 2024 in Berlin with German Minister of Defense Boris Pistorius.

During the bilateral meeting at the Federal Ministry of Defense, Minister Anušić emphasized that the Federal Republic of Germany is an important partner of Croatia in the field of defense and that the priority is to further strengthen and expand this cooperation.

The main topic of the meeting was the equipping and modernization of the Croatian Army with an emphasis on the procurement of new Leopard 2A8 tanks. The Federal Republic of Germany, namely, invited the Republic of Croatia to join the German program for the joint procurement of the Leopard 2A8 main battle tank.

Defense Ministers Anušić and Pistorius therefore signed a Letter of Intent today expressing the readiness of the two countries to deliver 30 of our M-84 tanks and 30 M-80 infantry fighting vehicles, including spare parts and ammunition, from Croatian stocks to Ukraine in the first delivery. the financial resources that the Republic of Croatia will receive from FR Germany for these tanks and combat vehicles will be used for the purchase of new German Leopard 2A8s.

Namely, the total price of the new Leopard 2A8 would be reduced by that amount. Considering the needs of the Croatian Army, the Republic of Croatia intends to acquire up to 50 new Leopard 2A8s. All other details will be known after the signing of the contract. An added value of this type of procurement model is helping Ukraine in their fight against Russian aggression.

Defense Minister Anušić said that this Leopard 2A8 procurement model is suitable for all three parties involved - Croatia, FR Germany and Ukraine.

"This is one of the largest and most significant modernization projects of the Croatian Army, along with all the modernization projects of the Croatian Air Force and the Croatian Navy, we have reached the strengthening of our armored forces, our tank battalions. As is well known, the Leopard is one of the best, if not the best, tanks of West German production, and Croatia will be fully equipped with these tanks," said Minister Anušić and added that the Government of the Republic of Croatia had given its consent to the letter of intent that sent by the German Government and that the implementation of that project will begin very soon.

It is particularly important that with the continuous modernization and equipping of the Croatian Army, and Croatia was recently approved for the purchase of Himars M142 self-propelled multiple rocket systems, unmanned aerial vehicles are also being procured, and the process of acquiring powerful tanks is now being launched, significantly shortening the deadlines for reaching the goal of two percent of GDP allocated to defense.

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