Croatia to buy new Leopard tanks and send old ones to Ukraine

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Ivan Anušić and Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, Lieutenant General Tihomir Kundid, are on an official visit to Germany. They met with German Minister of Defense Boris Pistorius, and then with representatives of Rheinmetall AG, a German manufacturer of weapons and military equipment.

During the bilateral meeting at the Federal Ministry of Defense, Minister Ivan Anušić emphasized that the Federal Republic of Germany is an important partner of Croatia in the field of defense and that the priority is to further strengthen and expand this cooperation.

The main topic of the meeting was the equipping and modernization of the Croatian Army with an emphasis on the procurement of new Leopard 2A8 tanks. The Federal Republic of Germany, namely, invited the Republic of Croatia to join the German program for the joint procurement of the Leopard 2A8 main battle tank.

Defense Ministers Anušić and Pistorius therefore signed a Letter of Intent today expressing the readiness of the two countries to deliver 30 of our M-84 tanks and 30 M-80 infantry fighting vehicles, including spare parts and ammunition, from Croatian stocks to Ukraine in the first delivery and the financial resources that the Republic of Croatia will receive from FR Germany for these tanks and combat vehicles will be used for the purchase of new German Leopard 2A8s.

Namely, the total price of the new Leopard 2A8 would be reduced by that amount. Considering the needs of the Croatian Army, the Republic of Croatia intends to acquire up to 50 new Leopard 2A8s. All other details will be known after the signing of the contract. An added value of this type of procurement model is helping Ukraine in their fight against Russian aggression.

Defense Minister Anušić said that this Leopard 2A8 procurement model is suitable for all three parties involved - Croatia, FR Germany and Ukraine.

“This is one of the larger and more significant modernization projects of the Croatian Army, along with all the modernization projects of the Croatian Air Force and the Croatian Navy, we have achieved the strengthening of our armored forces, our tank battalions. As is well known, the Leopard is one of the best, if not the best, tanks of West German production, and Croatia will be fully equipped with these tanks,” said Minister Anušić and added that the Government of the Republic of Croatia has given its consent to the letter of intent that was sent by the German Government and that the implementation of that project will begin very soon.

It is also particularly important that with the continuous modernization and equipping of the Croatian Army, and Croatia was recently approved for the purchase of Himars M142 self-propelled multiple rocket systems, unmanned aerial vehicles are also being procured, and the process of acquiring powerful tanks is now underway, significantly shortening the deadlines for reaching the goal of two percent of GDP allocated to defense.

“Although we have already shortened the deadline from 2030 to 2027, after the procurement process of Himars, unmanned aerial vehicles and now Leopards, we will reach the two percent GDP allocation for defense well before 2027,” Minister Anušić said.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said that Croatia is a reliable partner of FR Germany and that by signing the letter of intent, Croatia has decided to invest in its Armed Forces. Minister Pistorius thanked the Republic of Croatia for everything that it is doing regarding the stabilization of the Western Balkans and pointed out that the Republic of Croatia is a reliable partner in NATO, the European Union and on a bilateral level.

Ministers Ivan Anušić and Boris Pistorius emphasized the excellent relations between the Republic of Croatia and the Federal Republic of Germany, they also discussed the situation in Southeast Europe and agreed that both countries will continue to provide dedicated assistance to Ukraine, a victim of Russian aggression. Namely, Croatia has so far delivered military aid to Ukraine in the amount of more than 200 million euros.

At the press conference, the German Minister of Defense also commented on the NATO mission NSATU - which has been discussed in Croatia in recent weeks.

“I will say what NSATU is and what NSATU is not. NSATU is nothing more than the Rammstein format until now. It's just a little better organized, more efficient, in order to better coordinate support for Ukraine. NSATU is not an escalation. NSATU does not mean that we will have military boots on Ukrainian soil, so there will be no direct or indirect participation in the war in Ukraine, but it is an instrument that we use to coordinate various activities of NATO members, and I would very much welcome Croatia to be part of NSATU. I really say that I can reassure you, there is no to worry as far as NSATU is concerned,” said Boris Pistorius, the German Minister of Defense.

 Minister Anušić also thanked Minister Pistorius for his help in the recent evacuation of a Croatian officer from the UNIFIL mission in Lebanon.

Source: HRT