Czech Republic plans to purchase 14 additional Leopard 2A4 tanks

The Czech Republic will additionally acquire 14 Leopard 2A4 main battle tanks to strengthen its army’s capabilities.

On Wednesday, November 20, the government is to approve the contract, CZ DEFENCE reports.

The cost of supplying 14 tanks is estimated at around USD 180 million, and the deal, in addition to the Leopard 2A4s themselves, will exclude the installation of new communication and information systems, spare parts and necessary materials, and an initial supply of ammunition.

One additional Bergepanzer 3 Buffel armored repair vehicle is also likely to be delivered.

The supplier will be the German company Rheinmetall, which will supply tanks to the Czech Army in 2026.

Thus, together with the previous deliveries of Leopard 2A4 tanks, the 73rd Tank Battalion of the Czech Armed Forces will have 42 tanks of this type and three repair and recovery vehicles.

According to the Ministry of Defense of the Czech Republic, the purchase of additional Leopard 2A4 tanks is necessary to ensure sovereignty, territorial integrity, and political independence. In addition, the implementation of this procurement is in line with the Czech Republic’s main security interests, as defined in the government’s strategic documents.

Previous deliveries of tanks

The Czech Republic received the first batch of 14 Leopard 2A4 battle tanks and one Bergepanzer 3 Buffel BREM from Germany in exchange for supporting Ukraine. The last promised vehicles arrived in November 2023.

The deliveries are part of the German government’s Ringtausch circular exchange program, under which NATO member states provide Ukraine with Soviet-made heavy equipment in exchange for Western models.

At the end of July this year, the Ministry of Defense of the Czech Republic announced that the country would receive 14 more Leopard 2A4 battle tanks and one BREM Buffel from the Federal Republic of Germany as the second batch of compensation for the transfer of military equipment to Ukraine.

The first tanks from this delivery are due to arrive in the Czech Republic at the end of this year, and the rest of the vehicles are expected to be delivered by April 2025.

In June of this year, the Czech government also decided to join an agreement on the joint purchase of Leopard 2A8 tanks with other European countries led by Germany.