Dutch to buy tanks for more than $1 billion, add Kongsberg air defense

PARIS — The Netherlands plans to buy 46 Leopard 2A8 tanks for more than €1 billion (US$1.1 billion), rebuilding a heavy armor capacity just ten years after selling its last tanks to Finland, as it seeks to present a more credible military deterrent to an aggressive Russia.

The Dutch are also investing in missile defense, acquiring four short-range and six medium-range air-defense batteries from Norway’s Kongsberg, State Secretary for Defence Gijs Tuinman told parliament on Monday. The company expects the deal to be valued around 11 billion Norwegian kroner ($1 billion), it said in a separate statement.

Dutch defense officials and military brass have been showing up on TV shows and at public events in recent months to raise awareness of what they see as a threat of war posed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the need to bolster the country’s armed forces. The Netherlands last month announced plans to rebuild a tank battalion and buy additional F-35 fighter jets and anti-submarine frigates, backed by a rising defense budget.

“The war in Ukraine shows that battle tanks are of undiminished importance in modern conflict,” Tuinman told parliament in a letter detailing the planned purchase of Leopard tanks from French-German defense firm KNDS.

“With the reintroduction of a full-fledged tank battalion, the Netherlands is fulfilling the priority objectives assigned by NATO.”

The Netherlands will seek an option to buy six more tanks, on top of the 46 now penciled in. The Dutch are counting on unmanned systems to provide combat capacity equivalent to the six battle tanks, and will decide by 2027 whether that looks technologically feasible or whether they need to exercise the option to meet a goal of standing up a full tank battalion by 2030 at the latest.

Unmanned systems can make other systems less vulnerable by targeting enemy drones or armored vehicles, the state secretary said. The Ministry of Defence also expects systems for breaching obstacles and for sensing and reconnaissance to come to market.

Technology for unmanned capabilities equivalent to a modern battle tank is expected to emerge after 2035, in parallel with development of the French-German Main Ground Combat System , Tuinman said.

The Dutch aim to create their own unmanned capacity with the Leopard project to gain an edge over potential adversaries and build up a “significant” knowledge position in Europe, he said.

The Dutch MoD is working on the design of unmanned systems and expects to set out requirements by the end of next year, followed by validation with one or more manufacturers in the second half of 2026. Progress there will factor in the decision whether to order the six additional tanks, Tuinman told parliament.

The 46 planned Leopards are the minimum for a battalion with sufficient manned and unmanned operational capacity, Tuinman said. Staffing the tank battalion and its support capacities will require around 500 military personnel.

The Netherlands will tag along with a German-led joint procurement initiative that includes Lithuania and Czechia, which Tuinman said is the only way for the Dutch to have their own tank capacity in the short term. Allies are expected take delivery of the first new Leopard 2A8 battle tanks rolling off reactivated KNDS production lines end-2025, the state secretary said.

“The availability of slots on the recently reopened production lines is limited due to the greatly increased demand for heavy weapon systems,” Tuinman said. “This project therefore focuses on rapid materiel acquisition of the battle tanks by securing a favorable production slot.”

The Dutch government expects to conclude a deal with Germany by the end of the year, with first delivery three years later and the final tanks handed over in 2030. Any delay finalizing the contract could result in later delivery, as several countries are vying for a slot in the KNDS delivery schedule, according to Tuinman

The budget for the tank battalion is estimated at €1 billion to €2.5 billion, including spare parts, maintenance and operating costs. The MoD will further clarify support requirements, including trucks for transport, maintenance and supply, as well as recovery vehicles.

The Netherlands disbanded its tank battalions in 2011 amid budget cuts, selling its remaining 100 operational Leopard 2A6 tanks to Finland in 2014. The Dutch have been leasing 18 tanks from Germany since 2015, helping them retain knowledge around tank operations.

Meanwhile, the Netherlands also plans to order six medium-range and four short-range air-defense batteries from Kongsberg and additional multi-mission radar systems from Thales. Delivery of the systems is expected to start in 2028, with full operational capacity in 2030.

The budget for the air-defense project is €2.58 billion, including the cost of buying missiles, risk provision and operating costs, Tuinman said. That compares to Kongsberg’s estimate for a contract value of around 11 billion kroner.

The Dutch are ordering six fire units of the National Advanced Surface to Air Missile System (NASAMS), which can defend against attacks by aircraft and cruise missiles up to a range of 50 kilometers, according to Tuinman. One fire unit consists of multiple launchers, fire control and command units, as well as radar capacity, the state secretary said.

The Netherlands will also buy four short-range systems from Kongsberg based on the National Maneuver Air Defence System (NOMADS) mounted on the tracked Armoured Combat Support Vehicle G5, for defense against aerial threats including drones up to a range of 15 kilometers. The Dutch government is signing a separate contact with Norway for the ACSV tracked vehicles.

The ministry plans to order an additional eight Thales multi-mission radars, bringing the total ordered to 26, of which 14 for air and missile defense.

The Dutch military will create two batteries dedicated to air defense for land forces, each including a medium-range fire unit and two short-range fire units, radar capacity and logistical support, Two additional medium-range fire units will support Patriot long-range air-defense batteries, while another two will join a unit focused on protecting national infrastructure.

The government intends to buy missiles from the U.S. through a Foreign Military Sales agreement, Tuinman said. The plan is to buy AIM-120 AMRAAM-ER and AIM-120C8 AMRAAM missiles for the medium-range systems and AIM-9X Sidewinder missiles for the short-range systems, all interoperable with the country’s F-35 fighter jets.

Rudy Ruitenberg is a Europe correspondent for Defense News. He started his career at Bloomberg News and has experience reporting on technology, commodity markets and politics.

巴黎——荷兰计划斥资超过 10 亿欧元（11 亿美元）购买 46 辆豹 2A8 坦克，在向芬兰出售最后一批坦克仅仅十年后，重建其重型装甲能力，以期对咄咄逼人的俄罗斯展现更可信的军事威慑力。

荷兰也在加大导弹防御投入，国防国务秘书吉斯·图因曼周一在议会表示，荷兰将从挪威康斯伯格公司采购四套短程和六套中程防空导弹系统。该公司在另一份声明中表示，预计这笔交易价值约为110亿挪威克朗（约合10亿美元）。

近几个月来，荷兰国防官员和军方高层频繁出现在电视节目和公共活动中，以提高公众对俄罗斯入侵乌克兰所构成的战争威胁的认识，并强调加强荷兰武装力量的必要性。上个月，荷兰宣布计划重建一个坦克营，并增购F-35战斗机和反潜护卫舰，这些计划都将得到不断增长的国防预算的支持。

图伊曼在一封致议会的信中详细介绍了从法德合资国防公司 KNDS 购买豹式坦克的计划，信中写道：“乌克兰战争表明，坦克在现代冲突中仍然具有重要意义。”

“随着一支完整坦克营的重新组建，荷兰正在履行北约赋予的优先目标。”

荷兰将寻求增购6辆坦克的选择权，此前已初步计划购买46辆。荷兰指望无人系统提供相当于6辆主战坦克的作战能力，并将在2027年之前决定这在技术上是否可行，或者是否需要行使选择权，以实现最迟在2030年组建一个完整坦克营的目标。

国防部国务秘书表示，无人系统可以通过瞄准敌方无人机或装甲车辆来降低其他系统的脆弱性。国防部还预计，用于突破障碍物以及进行感知和侦察的系统也将陆续上市。

图伊曼表示，与现代主战坦克相当的无人作战能力技术预计将在 2035 年后出现，与法德联合研制的地面主战系统同步发展。

他表示，荷兰的目标是通过“豹”式无人作战项目打造自己的无人作战能力，从而在潜在对手面前取得优势，并在欧洲建立“重要的”知识地位。

荷兰国防部正在研究无人系统的设计，预计将于明年年底前制定相关要求，随后在2026年下半年与一家或多家制造商进行验证。图伊曼告诉议会，这方面的进展将作为是否订购额外六辆坦克的决定因素之一。

图伊曼表示，计划中的46辆豹式坦克是组建一支具备足够有人和无人作战能力的坦克营的最低配置。该坦克营及其支援力量的人员配备大约需要500名军事人员。

荷兰将加入由德国牵头、立陶宛和捷克参与的联合采购计划。图伊曼表示，这是荷兰在短期内拥有自主坦克生产能力的唯一途径。这位国务秘书还表示，盟国预计将于2025年底接收首批从重新启用的KNDS生产线下线的新型豹2A8主战坦克。

图因曼表示：“由于重型武器系统的需求大幅增长，最近重新开放的生产线上的生产名额有限。因此，该项目旨在通过确保获得有利的生产名额，快速获取主战坦克。”

荷兰政府预计将在年底前与德国达成协议，首批坦克将于三年后交付，最后一批坦克将于2030年交付。图因曼表示，由于多个国家都在争夺KNDS项目交付名额，任何合同最终敲定的延误都可能导致交付时间推迟。

该坦克营的预算预计为10亿至25亿欧元，其中包括备件、维护和运营成本。国防部将进一步明确支援需求，包括运输、维护和补给用卡车以及抢修车辆。

由于预算削减，荷兰在 2011 年解散了坦克营，并在 2014 年将其剩余的 100 辆可作战的豹 2A6 坦克出售给了芬兰。自 2015 年以来，荷兰一直从德国租赁 18 辆坦克，以帮助他们保留坦克作战方面的知识。

与此同时，荷兰还计划向康斯伯格公司订购六套中程和四套短程防空导弹系统，并从泰雷兹公司订购额外的多用途雷达系统。这些系统预计将于2028年开始交付，并于2030年全面投入使用。

图伊曼表示，防空项目的预算为25.8亿欧元，其中包括导弹采购成本、风险准备金和运营成本。相比之下，康斯伯格公司估计的合同价值约为110亿克朗。

据图因曼称，荷兰正在订购六套国家先进地对空导弹系统（NASAMS）火力单元，该系统能够防御射程达50公里的飞机和巡航导弹的攻击。这位国务秘书表示，一套火力单元包括多个发射装置、火控指挥单元以及雷达设备。

荷兰还将从康斯伯格公司购买四套基于国家机动防空系统（NOMADS）的短程防空系统，该系统将安装在G5履带式装甲战斗支援车上，用于防御包括无人机在内的空中威胁，有效射程达15公里。荷兰政府正在与挪威签署另一份合同，采购G5履带式装甲战斗支援车。

该部计划再订购 8 部泰雷兹多任务雷达，使订购总数达到 26 部，其中 14 部用于防空和导弹防御。

荷兰军方将组建两个专门用于陆军防空的炮兵连，每个炮兵连包括一个中程火力单元和两个短程火力单元、雷达能力和后勤保障。另外两个中程火力单元将支援“爱国者”远程防空导弹连，而另外两个中程火力单元将加入一个专注于保护国家基础设施的部队。

图伊曼表示，政府计划通过对外军售协议从美国购买导弹。计划购买AIM-120 AMRAAM-ER和AIM-120C8 AMRAAM导弹用于中程防御系统，以及AIM-9X“响尾蛇”导弹用于短程防御系统，所有这些导弹均可与该国的F-35战斗机兼容。

鲁迪·鲁伊滕贝格是《防务新闻》的欧洲记者。他的职业生涯始于彭博新闻社，拥有报道科技、大宗商品市场和政治方面的经验。