Following the Federal Council’s export license for 25 Leopard 2 tanks, the Federal Office for Armaments armasuisse and the German manufacturer Rheinmetall Landsysteme GmbH have signed the sales contract. In addition to the purchase price, the contract includes orders for Swiss industry as well as services for the active Leopard 2 fleet of the Swiss Armed Forces.
The Swiss Armed Forces currently operate 134 value-retained 87 Leopard 2 A4 tanks (Panzer 87 Leopard 2 A4 WE), which were modernized as part of the 2006 armament programme. It also has 96 decommissioned Panzer 87 Leopard 2 A4 tanks that have not undergone value retention. In a letter dated 23 February 2023, the German Minister of Economic Affairs Robert Habeck and the German Minister of Defence Boris Pistorius requested that some of the decommissioned 87 Leopard 2 A4 tanks be sold back to the tank manufacturer, the German company Rheinmetall, and gave assurances that the battle tanks would not be transferred to Ukraine. A final destination in Germany or with NATO or EU partners was guaranteed.
Under these conditions, Parliament approved the decommissioning of the systems and the Federal Council approved the export application from the Federal Office for Armaments armasuisse.
The parties have agreed on a purchase price and additionally on orders from Rheinmetall to Swiss companies from the security-related technology and industrial base (STIB) sector in the amount of the purchase price. The contract with Rheinmetall therefore contains relevant obligations for strengthening Swiss industry. Services were also agreed for the management of the fire control computer for the active fleet of Leo 2 tanks of the Swiss Armed Forces, which will increase their sustainability.
The contract also provides for the 25 tanks to be transported to Germany by rail by Rheinmetall in a timely manner. When repairing the tanks, Rheinmetall will remove components that can be reused for the active fleet operated by the army at no cost and return them to Switzerland. This measure will speed up the sale process and at the same time relieve the pressure on the resources of the army’s logistics base.
