Croatia buys German Leopard tanks using EU loans

WARSAW, Poland — The Croatian Ministry of Defense has placed an order for 44 Leopard 2A8 tanks, a deal valued at almost €1.5 billion ($1.8 billion).

The contract was signed by Ivan Anušić, Croatian deputy prime minister and defense minister, in the presence of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Croatia’s Prime Minister Andrej Plenković on Dec. 10 during an official visit of Croatian leaders to Berlin.

In his remarks at the official signing event, Plenković said the purchase is facilitated by the European Union’s low-cost loans for defense acquisitions under the bloc’s Security Action For Europe (SAFE) scheme. Brussels has made available a debt fund of some €150 billion to enable urgent purchases of new weapons and military gear by its member states, focusing on closing critical capability gaps.

“Of the 1.7 billion euros approved for Croatia, a part of these funds will be used to finance the procurement of 44 Leopard 2A8 tanks,” Plenković was quoted in a statement released by the Croatian ministry.

“Croatia is gradually abandoning eastern military technology and moving to Western technology, and the partnership with Germany, through this and other examples, is one of the ways we continuously strengthen cooperation in the field of defense.”

Under the plan, deliveries of the Leopards for the Croatian land forces are to take place between 2028 and 2030, according to the defense ministry.

Using SAFE funds, Croatia is joining the joint 2A8 acquisition by Germany and a number of other NATO countries. The Croatian Army is set to become another Eastern European military to operate the KNDS-made vehicle, alongside the armed forces of the Czech Republic and Lithuania . The joint procurement also involves the Netherlands and Norway.

The manufacturer unveiled the 2A8 variant of the tank in November, the first comprehensive rebuild for the Leopard series to be rolled out since 1992.

Jaroslaw Adamowski is the Poland correspondent for Defense News.

波兰华沙——克罗地亚国防部订购了 44 辆豹 2A8 坦克，这笔交易价值近 15 亿欧元（18 亿美元）。

该合同由克罗地亚副总理兼国防部长伊万·阿努希奇于 12 月 10 日在德国总理弗里德里希·默茨和克罗地亚总理安德烈·普伦科维奇的见证下签署。当时克罗地亚领导人正在对柏林进行正式访问。

在正式签约仪式上，普伦科维奇表示，此次采购得益于欧盟“欧洲安全行动”（SAFE）计划下提供的低成本国防采购贷款。布鲁塞尔已设立约1500亿欧元的债务基金，用于支持成员国紧急采购新型武器和军事装备，重点在于弥补关键能力缺口。

克罗地亚国防部发布的一份声明援引普伦科维奇的话说：“在批准拨给克罗地亚的 17 亿欧元资金中，一部分将用于资助采购 44 辆豹 2A8 坦克。”

“克罗地亚正在逐步放弃东方军事技术，转向西方技术。通过这次合作以及其他例子，与德国的伙伴关系是我们不断加强国防领域合作的方式之一。”

根据国防部的说法，按照计划，克罗地亚陆军将在 2028 年至 2030 年间接收豹式坦克。

克罗地亚利用SAFE基金，加入德国及其他一些北约国家的联合采购2A8装甲车项目。克罗地亚军队将成为继捷克和立陶宛军队之后，又一支使用KNDS公司生产的这款装甲车的东欧军队。荷兰和挪威也参与了此次联合采购。

制造商于 11 月推出了 2A8 型坦克，这是自 1992 年以来豹系列坦克首次进行全面改造。

Jaroslaw Adamowski 是《防务新闻》驻波兰记者。