The Swiss have rejected the Polish request to supply Poland with Leopard 2A4 tanks

The Swiss have rejected the Polish request to supply Poland with Leopard 2A4 battle tanks from storage.

This was announced by the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport of Switzerland.

Poland has recently requested Leopard 2A4 tanks that have become obsolete in the Swiss Army.

The request has been justified by the fact that Poland has transferred some of its armament, including heavy assets, to Ukraine.

Therefore, the Polish Armed Forces now need to replenish their own reserves of armored vehicles.

The Swiss authorities, however, rejected the request. This has been justified by the fact that the tanks would need to be formally withdrawn, while the transfer would also require parliamentary approval.

The Swiss informed that they will not be able to complete transferring of tanks within short time frames.

The very same release also states that Rheinmetall is free to decide what to do with 42 Leopard 2A4 MBTs purchased from Switzerland between 2010 and 2011.

Notably, Switzerland currently has at least 96 Leopard 2A4 main battle tanks (Pz 87) at its disposal.

These are stored in good technical condition.

The Swiss Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport is also considering reintroduction of those MBTs into the inventory of the Swiss military, given the tense situation in the world.

As previously reported, Poland handed over more than 240 tanks and more than 100 armored personnel carriers to Ukraine.