Germany orders 18 new Leopard 2 tanks to replace vehicles sent to Ukraine

BERLIN (AP) — A leading defense company says the German military has ordered 18 new Leopard 2 tanks to replace vehicles that were sent to Ukraine earlier this year. Kraus-Maffei Wegmann said on Friday that a contract for the Leopard 2A8 tanks was signed with the federal office for military equipment. It didn’t give financial details, but the German parliament’s budget committee on Wednesday approved funding of some 525 million euros ($563 million). The company said that delivery of the new tanks is scheduled to start in 2025, and that the deal includes options for another 105 Leopard 2A8 tanks.