The Armed Forces of Ukraine will receive a new batch of 20 Leopard 2A4 main battle tanks from Spain. These vehicles are in the list of weapons destined for Ukraine published by the Inter-Ministerial Regulatory Board on Foreign Trade in Defence and Dual-Use Material (JIMDDU), along with 90 other export permits for other weapons.
This is reported by a number of Spanish media, with La Vanguardia specifying that the transfer of combat vehicles will be divided into two equal batches. The first batch will be delivered by the end of June and the second one in September. The media outlet, however, states that there will be 19 tanks, not 20.
Read more: Spain Has Supplied Ukraine with €190 mln Worth of Weapons, 20 More Leopard 2A4s On Their Way — Media
Thus, Spain, which has already delivered 10 Leopard 2A4 main battle tanks, will increase this number to almost or all 30 units. This fact makes Spain the leader of the "Leopard 2 tank coalition." According to publicly available information, the largest donors of Leopard 2 are currently Germany with 18 Leopard 2A6s and also Poland with 14 Leopard 2A4 tanks committed, with the Netherlands and Denmark jointly providing another 14 in 2024.
Although Spain does not have a strong tank-building industry, it was able to organize a stable restoration of the Leopard 2A4 tanks for Ukraine at its own facilities. This process is organized by Santa Barbara Sistemas defense contractor which is part of General Dynamics Land Systems. Thanks to this fact Spain has managed to reach a 60% local production of Leopard 2E tanks (Leopard 2A6 version). For contrast, Sweden localized its Strv 122 main battle tank (Leopard 2A5 version) only at 30%.
Such a robust industrial foundation allows Madrid to be less dependent on German KWM and Rheinmetall manufacturers in receiving components for Leopard 2 tanks.
It should be noted that the total number of Spanish Leopard 2A4 tanks in storage that could be transferred to Ukraine was previously announced by the Minister of Defense of Spain, Margarita Robles. Back in the winter of 2023, it was reported that tanks for the Armed Forces of Ukraine were being selected from the 50 available vehicles (although Spanish media reported about 53) that were mothballed at the Casetas base near Zaragoza.
Thus, after the transfer of the first batch of tanks in the spring of 2023, 40 units remained, half of which have just been announced for transfer.
As earlier announced by the Spanish Secretary of State for Commerce, Madrid had carried out state arms exports to Ukraine from March 2022 to February 2024 for a total of 190 million euros. The transferred weapons include TOA (M113) armored personnel carriers, artillery weapons, missiles for MIM-23 HAWK and Aspid SAM systems, Mistral air defense systems, Harpoon anti-ship missiles, drones, communications equipment, ammunition, etc.
Earlier Defense Express reported that the Netherlands had provided a €350 million aid package to Ukraine, including weapons for F-16 aircraft.
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