Croatia to buy 50 German Leopard tanks under Ukraine discount

WARSAW, Poland — The government of Croatia has signed a letter of intent with Germany under which Zagreb aims to acquire up to 50 new Leopard 2A8s tanks for the country’s armed forces.

The tanks are to be purchased under a reduced price to compensate the Croatian Army for its planned transfer of used M-84 tanks and M-80 infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine.

The agreement was signed during an official visit by Croatian Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Ivan Anušić to Germany during which the official met with his German counterpart, Boris Pistorius, on Oct. 28.

“This is one of the largest and most significant modernization projects of the Croatian military, along with all the modernization projects of the Croatian Air Force and the Croatian Navy. We have reached the point of strengthening our armored forces, our tank battalions,” Anušić was quoted in a statement released by his ministry.

The talks in Berlin were accompanied by various initiatives to tighten the cooperation of Germany’s and Croatia’s defense sectors. On Oct. 29, Rheinmetall announced it had signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a joint venture with Croatian company DOK-ING, a manufacturer of unmanned ground systems (UGS).

“The agreement provides for joint development and subsequent marketing of the new DOK-ING Komodo platform. Rheinmetall AG is contributing various capability modules/upgrade kits … as well as its international market access and industrial capacities,” the German vendor said in a statement.

Croatia is joining a growing number of NATO’s Eastern European member states that plan to buy German-made tanks. The Croatian ministry’s decision to purchase tanks made by KNDS follows Lithuania’s announcement last week that it also intends to acquire Leopard 2A8s for its military.

On Oct. 22, the Lithuanian State Defence Council approved the Defence Ministry’s plans to purchase the weapons. The Baltic state aims to establish a new division within the country’s military in response to Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine. The unit will comprise infantry fighting vehicles and a tank battalion, among other elements.

Lithuanian officials have suggested they are eying a purchase of up to 54 Leopard 2A8s.

Jaroslaw Adamowski is the Poland correspondent for Defense News.

波兰华沙——克罗地亚政府与德国签署了一份意向书，根据该意向书，萨格勒布计划为该国武装部队采购多达 50 辆新的豹 2A8 坦克。

这些坦克将以优惠价格购买，以补偿克罗地亚军队计划向乌克兰转让二手 M-84 坦克和 M-80 步兵战车。

该协议是在克罗地亚副总理兼国防部长伊万·阿努希奇对德国进行正式访问期间签署的，访问期间，阿努希奇于 10 月 28 日与德国国防部长鲍里斯·皮斯托里乌斯会面。

“这是克罗地亚军队规模最大、意义最重大的现代化项目之一，与克罗地亚空军和海军的所有现代化项目一样重要。我们已经到了加强装甲部队和坦克营的阶段，”阿努希奇在其部门发布的一份声明中表示。

在柏林举行的会谈期间，双方还推出了一系列旨在加强德国和克罗地亚国防领域合作的举措。10月29日，莱茵金属公司宣布已与克罗地亚无人地面系统（UGS）制造商DOK-ING公司签署谅解备忘录，成立一家合资企业。

“该协议规定双方将共同开发并随后推广新型DOK-ING Komodo平台。莱茵金属股份公司将提供各种功能模块/升级套件……以及其国际市场准入和工业产能，”这家德国供应商在一份声明中表示。

克罗地亚加入了越来越多的北约东欧成员国的行列，计划购买德国制造的坦克。克罗地亚国防部决定购买KNDS公司生产的坦克，此前立陶宛上周也宣布计划为其军队采购豹2A8坦克。

10月22日，立陶宛国家国防委员会批准了国防部采购武器的计划。为应对俄罗斯持续入侵乌克兰，这个波罗的海国家计划在国内军队中组建一个新的师。该部队将包括步兵战车、坦克营以及其他装备。

立陶宛官员暗示，他们正在考虑购买多达 54 辆豹 2A8 坦克。

Jaroslaw Adamowski 是《防务新闻》驻波兰记者。