Positive vibes among Austria’s tank drivers: the service life extension program for the Leopard 2A4 main battle tanks of the army will now be “somewhat larger” after all.
In September 2023 Defence Minister Klaudia Tanner handed over the first Leopard 2 main battle tank for modernization to to KNDS. The hull is now at the Franco-German armaments company’s plant in Freisen, while the turret is being taken care of by the KNDS workshop in Kassel.
It was clear from the outset that it would be completely dismantled and rebuilt from scratch. The mechanical-hydraulic inner workings would be removed and replaced by an electric tower drive. This eliminates the need to heat up and cool down the hydraulics. The old wiring harness will also be removed and replaced by a modern digital data ring line. This will be connected to significantly smaller computers with much higher performance. The imaging devices will also be new. What KNDS can currently offer will be installed, which is the latest A7 standard and means that it will also get less hot in the tower in future, which will also benefit signature management.
To bring not only the tower crew but also the driver into the digital age, the so-called “slip ring transmitter” – the digital interface between the hull and tower – is being completely renewed and made twice as powerful as the previous ones. The background: the The new command information system of the can thus be introduced throughout the entire tank. KNDS will provide an appropriate interface and prepare the installation.
Not only the 48 Leopard 2A4s currently in service in Panzerbataillon 14 (PzB 14) “Hessen”, but also ten tanks that have been stored at the Army Logistics Centre in Wels to date will undergo this modernization. And – this is also new – the three driving school hulls will also be overhauled. So far, 20 tanks have been delivered to KNDS. One or two more per month will follow and undergo the 30-month modernization process in Germany. The first completely overhauled and modernized Leopard 2 is expected back in February 2026. “Externally, the vehicle will still be an A4,” says Colonel Jörg Loidolt, the commander of the only tank battalion in the Bundeswehr. “But inside it will be a modern A7.”
Project progress meetings, which also lead to improvements in the service life extension program, serve to further optimize the result. A modernized main gun is not part of the KNDS contract. The L44 remains the cannon of the Austrian Leopard 2, at least for the time being. Reinmetall has offered a successor model for more powerful ammunition in the form of the L44A1. However, nothing has been decided yet.
New halls and 4th company in Wels
Alongside the investment in the tanks, money is also being invested in the infrastructure of the Hesse barracks. The refurbished “Leopards” will be housed in new halls in which every parking space will have the necessary connections to be able to service the vehicles. Construction will begin in the last quarter of 2025, with the other halls following in parallel with the delivery of the tanks. Of course, there will also be simulators in Wels, with the Austrian Armed Forces aiming for an overall solution for simulating the many new and modified platforms. There is still some coordination work to be done here before this is followed up.
What is certain, however, is that Panzerbataillon 14 will not have 48 Leopard 2A4s in three companies as before, but 58 main battle tanks (new designation 2NV) in four companies in future. The exact organization of the target structure is still to be determined.
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Training cooperation with Hungary and the Czech Republic
The Czech Republic has received old German Lepard main battle tanks as part of the so-called ring exchange for the T-72 tanks it handed over to Ukraine (-> current news from the Ukraine war), while Hungary has received ex-Austrian Leopard 2A4s as an interim solution until its new Leopard 2A7HU arrives. The German army has supported the Hungarian armored soldiers in their first steps towards switching to the new system. Now the Hungarians are helping the Austrians.
Hungary received the first 2A7HU in December 2023 and also has a training facility for an entire platoon (four vehicles with four soldiers each) for the new system (-> Hungary receives further Leopard main battle tanks). Apart from a few minor details, the simulators are the same. The Austrians can travel to Hungary, select German as the screen language on the A7 simulator and start training.
There is a similar situation with the neighbors to the north. As the Czech Republic does not have any simulators, Panzerbataillon 14 is also helping its neighbors to get to grips with the new system.
Incidentally, recent reports that the Austrian Armed Forces are planning to procure new Leopard 2A8s for an additional tank battalion in addition to extending the service life of their Leopard fleet at KNDS cannot be confirmed.
Should the defense budget actually rises to two percent of GDPsuch a step would be possible – but at present it remains pure speculation.
