foto: KNDS Deutschland, Public domain/Leopard 2A8
The geopolitical situation is evolving every moment. Politicians are showing off their polished tweets. But we are still negotiating about joining the joint procurement of 2A8 Leopards and calculating what we actually have the money for.
It will be three quarters of a year since the Government approved joining the joint procurement of Leopards 2A8. The Ministry of Defence has communicated its intention to negotiate the terms of the joint acquisition with Germany by the end of 2024. And it is three months since the Chief of the General Staff informed the department that it would be better to suspend the purchase because there are not enough funds: „Due to the lack of financial resources related to the repeated reduction of funds under Chapter 307 of the Ministry of Defence, I request to withdraw from the implementation of the Main Battle Tank project.“ Security Magazine asked the MoD why the comprehensive material was not submitted to the Government by the end of 2024, when it will be presented, and whether the originally intended number of tanks, 61 with an option for 16 more in six variants, is valid.
Leopard 2A8: negotiations on joint purchase still ongoing
„Negotiations are currently underway with the German Ministry of Defence to join the framework agreements. A comprehensive paper will be submitted to the Government after the negotiations have been concluded. The public procurement is not carried out by the Government of the Czech Republic but by the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic. The Czech Army wants to procure six types of tanks in the most up-to-date versions introduced in the German Army. At present, the final requirement for the number of tanks to be procured in the six variants has not yet been set,“ the defence ministry said in its reply, de facto confirming that the original plan was not correctly set and calculated. While some countries, which announced their interest in this type of equipment publicly later than the Czech Republic, have already signed the contract, for us „the final requirement has not yet been set.“
„Tanks remain an essential part of the heavy brigade. They are the only ones that combine high firepower, mobility and durability. The uniqueness of tank technology is confirmed by the experience of fighting in Ukraine. By purchasing new tanks, we are fulfilling not only our commitments to our allies, but especially to our own defence,“ commented the Minister of Defence Jana Černochová last June on the approval of the intention to proceed with the joint procurement of tanks. Lithuania ordered 44 tanks for one battalion in December 2024, Sweden ordered the same number this January, Germany itself ordered 18 units in 2023 and confirmed an option for another 105 in June 2024. Norway 54. What are we waiting for? Why do other countries know how many tanks they need and sign contracts, but the Czech Republic cannot?
Simple math: tank battalion = 44 Leopards 2A8
Even in times of rapid growth in the defence budget, money remains an obvious problem, but it is not the only problem. It is not only Prime Minister Fiala who repeatedly talks about the need to spend up to 3% of GDP, which we should achieve in a few years. This is a clear shift from the situation in November 2024, when the Army doubted the ability to finance the tank purchase. And if buying tanks is a strategic project, what is there to wait for? The basic math is simple. We have one tank battalion that needs modern weaponry. One battalion is 44 tanks. And to them specialized variants and ideally a reserve that can come later. The price is the same for all users under joint purchase.
The acquisition of Main Battle Tanks perhaps illustrates well the problem pointed out by critical voices – GDP percentages alone will not ensure defence capability. The Army needs to know what capabilities it needs to be an effective force within the Alliance, whose future is now somewhat in doubt. And it is from these capabilities that public spending must then be based. We have acquired 28 older Leopard 2A4s from Germany in a „ring exchange“ for equipment provided to Ukraine, and we have bought further 14. That in itself represents armament for an entire tank battalion, and looking at the lengthy dance around the realistic accession to the joint procurement of modern tanks offered the question of whether anyone had begun to think that the 2A4 version was enough.
Not get the Leopard 2A8 and settle for the upgraded 2A4? No, says the MoD
„This option is not being considered. It is only a question of the number of Leopard 2A8 tanks in each year that the ministry will be able to procure based on changes in the resource framework,“ the MoD said in response to a query by Security Magazine. „Resource framework changes“? As we can see, these „changes“ (or rather fundamental flaws in the original thinking) were quite different in November 2024 from those being discussed today, when, on the contrary, the Government is preparing to accelerate the growth of defence spending. But let's just stop at the older Leopards that the Czech Army is putting on display today, driving them around football stadiums and producing attractive training videos... attractive?
Only modern technology will boost recruitment
Whenever the poor results of recruitment into the Army are discussed, the valid argument is made, among others, that the introduction of modern technology has the potential to boost the interest of potential soldiers. Logically. „What am I going to do with such an old piece of junk,“ the famous scene from Tank Battalion movie, would be a bit unfair to the existing T-72M4 CZ and Leopard 2A4 tanks, but actually appropriate when compared to the capabilities (and design) of the modern Leopard 2A8. If the Army wants to better appeal to potential career candidates, it needs to show them that the assets they will serve with are relevant to the times. An example of this is Hungary, whose Army is using recently delivered modern equipment, including Leopard 2A7HU tanks, to promote recruitment very intensively.
Thus, while in the Czech Republic it was a topic at the time that the old (originally Swiss) Leopard 2A4 tanks being introduced into the armament of the Czech Armed Forces did not have fire protection that complied with Czech regulations, as pointed out by Pavel Růžička, Vice-Chairman of the Committee on Defence, the Faculty of Military Sciences of the Hungarian National University of Public Service (NKE) is taking full advantage of the possibilities offered by the modernisation of the army's armaments. For example, it is familiarising students with the characteristics of the aforementioned Leopard 2A7HUs using a live example, as reported on the Hungarian MoD and Army website. High school cadets are already getting acquainted with modern equipment too. In the Czech Republic this cannot work yet. Thus, at presentation events, the Army shows off thirty- or forty-year-old tanks, but these are supposed to be only a temporary solution, and their effect on promoting recruitment in this case to the ranks of the 7th Brigade is very limited at best.
Prime Minister Fiala: „We need to be stronger, economically and militarily, we need to start taking care of our own security, we need to put more money into defence.“ We should start by implementing long-planned and approved projects. Among them, the real modernisation of the tank battalion, which has been talked about for years, and the water is flowing.
Tagy