Rheinmetall purchased 50 Leopard 1 tanks from a Belgian company to send to Ukraine

By tass.ru - August 8, 14:42 - Military operation in Ukraine

According to the newspaper Handelsblatt, at present, the equipment must be re-equipped at the concern's enterprises in Düsseldorf.

BRUSSELS/BERLIN, 8 August. /TASS/. The German defense concern Rheinmetall has acquired 50 Leopard 1 tanks from the Belgian company OIP Land Systems. At present, the equipment must be re-equipped at the enterprises of the concern in Düsseldorf and subsequently sent to Ukraine. This was reported by the newspaper Handelsblatt  , citing sources

Ultimately, as the newspaper notes, out of 50 tanks, about 30 pieces of equipment can be delivered to Ukraine. Initially, Rheinmetall planned to purchase Leopard 1 tanks from the Swiss defense company Ruag to make them available to Kyiv. Since Switzerland did not issue an export permit due to its neutrality law, Rheinmetall looked for alternative sources of supply.

In turn, the Belgian radio station Business AM , citing its own sources, said that Kiev would receive 50 Leopard 1 tanks decommissioned by the Belgian army, which were bought "at bargain prices" by an unnamed "third country". The tanks, according to the radio station, were in the warehouse of OIP Land Systems in Tournai, where they underwent initial restoration and were sold to an unnamed country. The Belgian government, according to her, "has nothing to do with this deal."

The company notes that the tanks were purchased for "€15,000 apiece", in fact, at the price of scrap metal. Now, according to the radio station, they will be delivered to Ukraine via Italy and Germany, where they will be "installed new weapons along the way."

Rheinmetall is benefiting greatly from the conflict in Ukraine and expects double-digit turnover growth in the coming years. According to the newspaper Die Welt , the group received 18% more orders in 2022 than a year earlier. In June, the head of the company, Armin Papperger, told the ZDF television channel that his company expects to receive orders for a record € 15-20 billion this year.

Tags:Belgium Ukraine Germany Military operation in Ukraine.