Rheinmetall Unleashes an Enhanced Arsenal: New Main Battle Tanks and Armoured Recovery Vehicles Revealed!
Rheinmetall has once again been assigned with supplying main battle tanks and armored recovery vehicles to the Czech Republic as part of a ring exchange program sanctioned by the German authorities to support Ukraine. A contract pertaining to this matter was concluded at the end of July 2024 in Prague between representatives of both countries and Rheinmetall. The contract’s worth is within the low three-digit million euro range.
The Czech armed forces are set to receive 14 Leopard 2A4 main battle tanks along with one Buffalo armored recovery vehicle from Rheinmetall. In return, the Czech military will send military provisions to Ukraine. The first vehicle is expected to arrive in the Czech Republic by the close of 2024, whereas the rest of the tanks will be delivered by the end of April 2025, and the supply of ARV 3 Buffalo will complete by early 2026.
Mirroring the initial ring exchange with the Czech Republic in October 2022, Rheinmetall quickly orchestrated the crucial agreements in close coordination with the German Federal Ministry of Defence and Czech officials and military personnel. Production on the vehicles has already commenced.
The vehicles currently being delivered, owned by Rheinmetall, are upgraded Leopard 2A4 main battle tanks that were previously held in the inventories of various user countries. The sophisticated ARV 3 Buffalo armored recovery vehicle is designed based on an enhanced Leopard 2 chassis.
The “Ringtausch” (“ring exchange”) represents a strategy innovated by the German government in collaboration with Germany’s neighboring nations and NATO partners aimed at assisting Ukraine in its battle against Russian aggression. Specifically, NATO member states are supplying Ukraine with Soviet-era heavy equipment in exchange for accessible Western military resources.
