According to a report in the media, the arms manufacturer Rheinmetall is allegedly planning to prepare another export of battle tanks to Ukraine as the German news platform tagesschau.de reports.
According to reports from industry circles, the company has acquired 50 “Leopard 1” tanks from the Belgian company OIP Land Systems. These vehicles are now to be converted at the Rheinmetall Group’s German sites for use in Ukraine, as reported by the “Handelsblatt” newspaper. Ultimately, around 30 of the 50 main battle tanks are to be delivered to Ukraine, according to the report.
Originally, Belgian media had reported on the purchase of the 50 main battle tanks, but it remained unclear who acquired the “Leopard 1” from OIP Land Systems. The “Leopard 1” is the predecessor of the “Leopard 2” currently used by the Bundeswehr, of which several dozen have already been exported to Ukraine.
Image: R888, Austrian Tank Leopard-2A4, CC-BY-SA-3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (image size modified)