The German government has approved the delivery of Leopard 1 tanks to Ukraine from industrial stocks and is in talks over purchasing back 15 Flakpanzer Gepard anti-aircraft guns on the tank chassis from Qatar to send to Kyiv, according to Süddeutsche Zeitung citing government sources, Reuters reports.
The Leopard tanks can be delivered to Ukraine anytime once they are repaired. Meanwhile, the companies Rheinmetall and Flensburger Fahrzeugbau Gesellschaft (FFG) want to recondition dozens of Leopards 1 tanks and could supply them to Ukraine if Kyiv was willing to buy them, Süddeutsche Zeitung wrote.
Back in April 2022, Rheinmetall chief executive Armin Papperger told Germany’s Handelsblatt business newspaper that the company was ready to deliver 50 Leopard 1 tanks to Ukraine if Germany approves such a transfer.
Also, several German officials discussed with Qatar’s foreign ministry a possible purchase of 15 Gepard tanks that Doha had bought to secure the World Cup stadiums, Süddeutsche Zeitung said.
The Leopard 1 is an older version of the Leopard 2 tank that is still in military service in Greece, Turkey, Brazil, and Chile.
Ukraine already operates up to four types of vehicles based on the Leopard 1 platform. Those in operation or promised to be supplied are the Gepard self-propelled anti-aircraft guns, the Bergepanzer 2 ARV armored recovery vehicles, the Dachs engineering vehicles, and the Biber bridge layers.
Before the German recent approval of tank supplies to Ukraine, Ukrainian officials stated that 12 counties were ready to send about 100 newer Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine.
Read also:
- Spain to send up to six Leopard 2A4 tanks to Ukraine – El País
- Not only Leopards: Poland ready to send 60 modernized Soviet-era tanks to Ukraine, Polish PM says
- Canada to send four German-made Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine in coming weeks
- Germany’s Leopard tanks will arrive in Ukraine in 3–4 months
- Norway considers transfer of up to 8 Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine
- Finnish President Niinistö arrives in Kyiv to discuss delivery of Leopard tanks
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Tags: Gepard, Germany, Leopard 1, main battle tanks
