Another European country may purchase new main battle tanks to replace its Leopard 2s. And we're talking about Finland, which is capable of starting this process in 2028, or even signing a corresponding contract by then. And this is despite the fact that it didn't transfer tanks to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, limiting itself only to Leopard 2R engineering vehicles.
This information emerges from a presentation by German concern Rheinmetall about its vision for development until 2030. And the company plans to promote its own KF51 Panther for such an opportunity, which hasn't even left development yet.
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On one hand, Finland's plans look somewhat unexpected, as it currently operates a decent fleet of a hundred Leopard 2A6s and another hundred Leopard 2A4s, which are being cost-effectively modernized. Both types of vehicles were purchased used, with the newer ones obtained in 2015-2019, meaning less than 10 years ago.
However, if we look from another side, new tanks will have to be waited for years, especially if buying from Europeans. So it makes sense to start a corresponding project that will begin to be implemented and allow receiving a replacement in time, or even expand the fleet of equipment.
It's clear that Rheinmetall doesn't intend to miss such an opportunity, where they're actively promoting their own new KF51 Panther. Yes, it's being offered to Romania to replace T-55s and received funding from Hungary.
The only confirmed plans so far, although not without a firm contract, exist for Italy, which plans to order 272 tanks. However, they'll have to wait until 2029, if not a bit more, which speaks to possible supply problems for other potential customers as well.
And this could become a good bonus for potential competitors, which, typically based on previous European stories, will be German Leopard 2A8s and South Korean K2s. The latter have a huge advantage in rapid delivery with potential additional involvement of Polish capabilities, which will then conduct localization.
Of course, it's difficult to say who will win yet, especially not knowing how accurate these plans are and what the tender requirements and budget will be. Perhaps these are only preliminary estimates from Rheinmetall and Finland isnt actually planning procurement yet.
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