Rheinmetall has announced a new contract it was awarded by the German government for the supply of 14 Leopard 2A4 main battle tanks and 3 Büffel recovery vehicles tanks to the Czech Republic. The interesting detail about this contract, with an estimated value in the "three-digit range of millions of euros," is that it's fulfilled under the so-called "ring exchange/ring swap" (Ringtausch) program initiated by the German government.
This format of defense cooperation between European countries was actively practiced by Berlin in 2022, when it wasn't yet ready to supply Western-type weapons to Ukraine, instead asking the former Warsaw Pact states to give their old Soviet equipment in exchange for brand-new German arms. But in the middle of 2024, when Ukraine has long been operating almost all types of Western armored vehicles, a return to these "ring swaps" may raise a reasonable question if it wouldn't be easier to just transfer these Leopard 2s to Ukraine directly instead.
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For starters, let's note down that before Rheinmetall's deal with the German authorities, the latter had met with their Czech counterparts in late July to discuss this arrangement. The Czech Ministry of Defense officially announced it had reached an agreement with the German government on the compensatory supply, the statement mentioned exactly the same number of Leopard 2A4 and Büffel vehicles and even revealed their total cost: nearly 4.5 billion crowns (EUR 178.7 million). The ministry added that negotiations were underway for another 14 tanks.
To comprehend the scale, the Czech Republic has provided Ukraine with substantial military aid since the beginning of the russian invasion in 2022. As of May 2024, this country has donated eight aircraft, 62 main battle tanks, hundreds of armored vehicles, and thousands of rifles and anti-tank weapons to Ukraine, according to the update published early July this year by the Czech defense ministry (full list at the end of the article).
All these goods were priced at a modest €270 million, and this figure doesn't include equipment delivered under commercial contracts with Ukraine and its partners on behalf of Ukraine, like the modernization for T-72 tanks.
Meanwhile, the Czech Republic only received a batch of 14 Leopard 2A4 tanks in return so far, so it's plausible the new provision of these tanks just continue this compensation process for the materiel donated in the past.
Though, this commitment may give the Czech government more freedom to keep sending more equipment to Ukraine to balance it out. In a way, this would be even better for Ukraine because potential new provisions would arrive on short notice from the Czech army stockpiles, while the said Leopards will only arrive in Czechia throughout late 2024–April 2025, and the Büffel recovery vehicles as late as in 2026.
But the most important reason why these Leopards cannot be sent to Ukraine directly is that these tanks most likely come from Switzerland. At least when Czech officials announced the ongoing negotiations on acquiring 28 Leopards, the source of equipment in question was a Swiss warehouse.
Rheinmetall has bought them out and is currently repairing them back to shape. Switzerland refuses to allow any of its weapons to end up in Ukraine, therefore the Pz 87, a Swiss version of Leopard, wouldn't be able to reach Ukraine anyway.
For reference: the breakdown of military aid the Czech Republic has provided to Ukraine by May 2024, estimated at CZK 6.75 billion, or almost EUR 270 million. Source: the Ministry of Defense of the Czech Republic. The entire list as follows:
- 8 pieces of aviation equipment,
- 94,860 rounds of ammunition for self-propelled guns and howitzers,
- 62 tanks, 131 infantry fighting vehicles, 26 CBRN-protected reconnaissance vehicles,
- 16 mobile air defense systems,
- 47 other vehicles,
- 13 howitzers,
- 12 rocket launchers,
- 4,900 rockets for rocket launchers,
- 645 anti-tank missiles, 8,022 anti-tank grenades,
- 128 mortars and 17,400 mortar shells,
- 435 anti-aircraft systems,
- 41,258 firearms, and
- over 4.2 million rounds of small arms ammunition.
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