IThe traffic light coalition is arguing fiercely about supplying Leopard 2 main battle tanks to Ukraine. After a conference of the countries that support Ukraine on Friday in Ramstein, the new Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) announced that he first wanted to have it checked which and how many Leopard tanks from the Bundeswehr were actually suitable for delivery to Ukraine would come
A corresponding list has long been available in the Ministry of Defense, at least according to the news magazine Der Spiegel. Accordingly, since early summer 2022 there has been a detailed list of various Leopard models that are available from the troops and could be considered for delivery to Ukraine.
According to the table available to the magazine, the Bundeswehr has a total of 312 different Leopard 2 tanks of different series. In May last year, 99 of these were for maintenance and repair work in the armaments industry, and one was already being sorted out. Accordingly, according to “Spiegel”, 212 Leopard 2 models are listed under the “Troop stock” tab. Among these are the various models 2A5, 2A6, 2A7 and 2A7V, which is the most modern version of the weapon system. As of May 22, the troops had 53 of the Leopard variant 2A7V.
The list also shows, the “Spiegel” writes, citing Bundeswehr insiders, which models would be suitable for delivery to Ukraine. Accordingly, it is conceivable that the Bundeswehr could hand over the 19 Leopard 2A5 models. According to the list, these are currently used to “represent enemy forces” in the army’s combat training center, i.e. they simulate enemy tanks during maneuvers.
