Rheinmetall has once again been commissioned to supply main battle tanks and armoured recovery vehicles to the Czech Republic as part of a ring swap process commissioned by the German government to support Ukraine. An agreement to this effect was signed at the end of July 2024 in Prague between representatives of both countries and Rheinmetall. The order value is in the low three-digit million euro range.
The Czech armed forces will be receiving 14 Leopard 2A4 main battle tanks and one Buffalo armoured recovery vehicle from Rheinmetall. In turn, the Czech military will be transferring military equipment to Ukraine. The first vehicle is due to be shipped to the Czech Republic at the end of 2024, the rest of the tanks will be delivered till the end of April 2025 and delivery of ARV 3 Buffalo will be completed by the beginning of 2026.
As was already the case in the first ring swap with the Czech Republic in October 2022, Rheinmetall negotiated the necessary contracts in close cooperation with the German Federal Ministry of Defence and the Czech authorities and armed forces within a short period of time. Work on the vehicles has also already begun.
The property of Rheinmetall, the vehicles now being made available are upgraded Leopard 2A4 MBTs formerly in the inventories of various user states. The state-of-the-art ARV 3 Buffalo armoured recovery vehicle is mounted on an enhanced Leopard 2 chassis.
The “Ringtausch” (“ring swap”) is a procedure developed by the German government in cooperation with Germany’s neighbours and NATO allies to support Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression. Specifically, NATO member states are providing Ukraine with Soviet-era heavy equipment in exchange for readily available Western military systems.
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