Czech Republic orders 14 Leopard 2A4 tanks

4 December, 2024 Czech Leopard 2A4 tank. Photo: Michal Pivonka/CZ DEFENSE The Czech Ministry of Defense has accepted the German government's proposal to order 14 additional Leopard 2A4 tanks.

The Czech Ministry of Defense reported on this. As part of these discussions, a contract was signed with Rheinmetall Landsysteme for a new supply of main battle tanks. The value of the signed contract is £169.8 million.

The contract also includes the modernization of the vehicles with the installation of appropriate radios to Czech specifications, spare parts, and an initial supply of ammunition.

Signing of the contract for Leopard 2A4 tanks. Photo credits: Jan Sejbal

This contract will increase the Czech Army's fleet of Leopard 2A4 tanks to 42 units. The country will also receive two additional Buffel 3 armored recovery vehicles.

It is expected that these 14 tanks will be delivered to the Czech Republic in full by the end of 2026. In addition, the Ministry of Defense is currently finalizing discussions on the future maintenance of the tanks at facilities in the Czech Republic. "We continue to modernize not only our tank troops but the entire army.

This is another step to get rid of old Russian weapons and at the same time increase our capabilities," said Jana Cernochova, Czech Minister of Defense. The procurement is part of the Czech Republic's strategy to strengthen its security and modernize its army, during which the country will replace modernized Soviet-era T-72M4CZ tanks with Leopard 2A4s and supplement them with Leopard 2A8s. The Ministry of Defense noted that Soviet-era tanks do not meet the modern level, and their modernization is difficult due to design limitations.

Leopard 2A4 tank of the Czech military.

April 2023. Photo credits: Ministry of Defense of the Czech Republic

The Czech Republic is currently equipping the 73rd Tank Battalion with new tanks, which will eventually meet all NATO standards for equipment and technical capabilities of combat vehicles. The battalion will also include a support platoon equipped with Buffel armored recovery vehicles, which the Czech Republic is currently receiving from Germany.

As part of the renewal of its armored forces, the Czech Republic has included the purchase of Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks, scheduled to be delivered from 2027 to 2029, in the list of strategic projects of the Army of the Czech Republic. In addition, in 2022, the Czech Republic placed an order for 28 used Leopard 2A4 tanks, which previously belonged to the Swiss army but were repaired by Rheinmetall. Subsequently, the country received an offer to purchase 14 more such tanks from Germany, which is likely to bring the total number of Leopard 2A4s in the Czech army to 42 units.

The Czech Republic is also considering localizing the production of Leopard 2 tanks on its territory, which should positively impact the speed of fulfillment of export orders in the future.

Czech defense companies, including Excalibur Army, will be involved in producing Leopard 2A8 tanks as part of a large European order.