Germany plans to purchase 35 Leopard 2 tanks to strengthen NATO presence in Lithuania
Photo: Germany wants to purchase 35 Leopard 2 tanks to strengthen NATO presence in Lithuania (Krauss Maffei Wegmann)
The German government plans to order 35 Leopard 2 A8 tanks for its brigade, recently deployed in Lithuania, states Bloomberg.
According to the agency, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius plans to purchase 35 additional Leopard 2 A8 battle tanks. They will be used to strengthen the brigades deployed in Lithuania as part of NATO's joint efforts to protect Europe's eastern flank from Russia.
As the sources of the agency report, the total cost of the tanks will be approximately $1.1 billion. They include the 18 tanks that Germany has already pledged to purchase to replace those that were transferred to Ukraine.
Approximately a month ago, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said that the German Armed Forces could face a shortfall of up to 6 billion euros next year. According to him, Germany risks not meeting NATO's 2% of GDP military expenditures quota.
Additionally, the Minister of Defense of Germany recently stated that the country plans to modernize its army to be ready for war.
