TSAMTO, May 20. Czech Defense Minister Yana Chernokhova announced that an agreement had been reached with the head of the German military department, Christine Lambert, on the gratuitous transfer of 15 Leopard-2A4 MBT to replace the Soviet-made T-72 MBT previously supplied by the Czech authorities to Ukraine.
In addition, the parties will begin negotiations on the possibility of acquiring up to 50 modern Leopard-2A7+ tanks in the coming years.
It is assumed that the Leopard-2A4 MBT will be transferred to the Czech Republic by the end of 2022. The armed Forces of the country will receive 15 combat tanks and one training tank. The delivery package will also include spare parts and ammunition.
To implement the delivery, the countries must conclude an appropriate agreement, the development of which is already underway. It is assumed that it will be possible to sign the agreement in the summer of 2022. The first Leopard-2A4 tank will be delivered six months after the signing of the agreement. In addition, the Czech Ministry of Defense expects that the transferred tanks will be upgraded to the Leopard-2A7+ version in the future.
The training of Czech servicemen in Germany will begin in 2022. Later, the joint training of Czech and German tankers will be continued in the Czech Republic. This approach will ensure an accelerated transition to a new platform and support bilateral cooperation between the countries.
At the same time, the Czech Defense Ministry will begin negotiations on the acquisition of additional Leopard-2A7+ tanks. The goal of this project is to purchase up to 50 new tanks in the coming years.
As stated, Leopard tanks are already in service with a number of Czech allies in NATO and its closest neighbors, including Hungary and Poland. The rearmament will also contribute to the creation of a heavy brigade in accordance with the country's obligations to NATO.
The purchase of new tanks and the modernization of obsolete ones will be carried out in cooperation with the German government, whose armed forces are implementing the modernization of their own Leopard tanks. This will reduce the cost of purchasing and subsequent modernization of equipment. In addition, this should ensure the maximum participation of the Czech defense industry not only in the supply and modernization, but also in the production of components for the German Armed Forces.
As reported by TSAMTO, until recently, there were 30 T-72M4CZ tanks in the combat composition of the Czech Army, which underwent modernization. About 100 more T-72 tanks in the basic version were in storage.
