Gasoline
MEMBER
- Joined
- Nov 28, 2014
- Messages
- 958
- Reactions
- Country
-
- Location
-
Germany looks towards Leopard 2 replacement
Sebastian Schulte, Bonn - IHS Jane's Defence Weekly
28 May 2015
Germany is looking towards the eventual successor to the Leopard 2 MBT. It remains unclear whether the successor will be an entirely new design, or an innovative update to the Leopard 2. Rheinmetall MBT Revolution Leopard 2 upgrade concept pictured. Source: Rheinmetall
The German Ministry of Defence (MoD) is to initiate concept studies for a successor to the Leopard 2 main battle tank (MBT) before the end of the year.
The news was announced by German Defence State Secretary Markus Grübel to Parliament, with Grübel adding that the MoD plans to conduct joint capability studies with France for the project. This bilateral element is hoped to provide some tailwind to the proposed merger between Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) and Nexter to FORM a new European land-systems powerhouse, prospectively known as KANT [Krauss-Maffei Wegmann And Nexter Together].
The capabilities studies are set to run between 2015 and 2018, with Germany and France reviewing technologies and concepts for the FUTURE MBT. Speaking to IHS Jane's , a source stated that the Leopard 2 successor will include technology from Germany's Puma infantry fighting vehicle (IFV). According to the MoD, the in-service time of the Leopard 2 ends around 2030.
At this time it remains unclear whether the new tank will be an entirely new design or an innovative update of the current Leopard design. That said, the fact that the German MoD refers in-house to the project as "Leopard 2Ax" is a fairly strong INDICATOR of the lie-of-the-land at the moment.
German lawmakers asked the MoD back in October 2014 to review and re-evaluate the country's MBT requirements and to plan for an eventual Leopard 2 successor.
Although western European MBT fleets have declined massively since the end of the Cold War, their value has recently been demonstrated by the Ukraine crisis. Indeed, as a consequence of the Ukraine crisis, the German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen decided in April to increase the number of active German MBTs from 225 to 328. Comparatively, West Germany used to operate 2,300 Leopard 2s.
Germany looks towards Leopard 2 replacement - IHS Jane's 360
Sebastian Schulte, Bonn - IHS Jane's Defence Weekly
28 May 2015
Germany is looking towards the eventual successor to the Leopard 2 MBT. It remains unclear whether the successor will be an entirely new design, or an innovative update to the Leopard 2. Rheinmetall MBT Revolution Leopard 2 upgrade concept pictured. Source: Rheinmetall
The German Ministry of Defence (MoD) is to initiate concept studies for a successor to the Leopard 2 main battle tank (MBT) before the end of the year.
The news was announced by German Defence State Secretary Markus Grübel to Parliament, with Grübel adding that the MoD plans to conduct joint capability studies with France for the project. This bilateral element is hoped to provide some tailwind to the proposed merger between Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) and Nexter to FORM a new European land-systems powerhouse, prospectively known as KANT [Krauss-Maffei Wegmann And Nexter Together].
The capabilities studies are set to run between 2015 and 2018, with Germany and France reviewing technologies and concepts for the FUTURE MBT. Speaking to IHS Jane's , a source stated that the Leopard 2 successor will include technology from Germany's Puma infantry fighting vehicle (IFV). According to the MoD, the in-service time of the Leopard 2 ends around 2030.
At this time it remains unclear whether the new tank will be an entirely new design or an innovative update of the current Leopard design. That said, the fact that the German MoD refers in-house to the project as "Leopard 2Ax" is a fairly strong INDICATOR of the lie-of-the-land at the moment.
German lawmakers asked the MoD back in October 2014 to review and re-evaluate the country's MBT requirements and to plan for an eventual Leopard 2 successor.
Although western European MBT fleets have declined massively since the end of the Cold War, their value has recently been demonstrated by the Ukraine crisis. Indeed, as a consequence of the Ukraine crisis, the German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen decided in April to increase the number of active German MBTs from 225 to 328. Comparatively, West Germany used to operate 2,300 Leopard 2s.
Germany looks towards Leopard 2 replacement - IHS Jane's 360
