Switzerland has more than a battalion of the Pz 87 (Leopard 2A4) tanks in storage, namely 96 units, which are "in mountain warehouses" and it’s already the second country has expressed an offer to buy these tanks.
Thus, Defense Express previously told that Germany intended to buy these Leopard 2s from Switzerland on the condition that they will not end up in Ukraine. Instead, they would become a "source" of the "circular supplies" when the Swiss tanks would go to those countries that had transferred their Leopard 2 directly to Ukraine: in this way, the Swiss Leopard 2 are expected to be used to replenish the stock of tanks in order to ensure country’s own defense capability.
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Since formally the Swiss tanks will not go to a belligerent country, this scheme would not even require permission to re-export weapons, but the sale of tanks must still be approved by the Swiss parliament, which rejected one of the proposals to allow the re-export of weapons to Ukraine earlier.
Since recently, the Czech Republic has joined Germany: as Swiss Federal Councillor Viola Amherd told SRF, the Czech government, following the Germans, also offered to buy Leopard 2 tanks from Switzerland.
Defense Express reminds that earlier a similar option with the Pz 87 tanks (the Leopard 2A4) was offered in Switzerland itself: a number of Swiss politicians offered to sell these tanks to Poland and the Czech Republic for a symbolic one franc, so that they could keep them and send Polish or Czech tanks to Ukraine instead.
Now there are direct proposals from two countries, Germany and the Czech Republic: but again, to be able to sell tanks it will be necessary to obtain a sales permit from Switzerland.
Defense Express notes that there are Leopard 1A5 tanks that are located in Italy, but "on paper" belong to Switzerland. The German Rheinmetall expressed the desire to buy them for Ukraine, but currently the Swiss authorities have not yet given the green light to that.
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