The Swiss government has approved the sale of 25 Leopard 2 tanks back to Germany. In turn, Germany has assured that these tanks will remain in Germany, NATO, or EU partners and will not go to Ukraine under any circumstances. This is a rather strange arrangement, as Germany is the original manufacturer of the Leopard 2. Switzerland could not sell these tanks to anyone else without German approval.
Leopard 2 tanks in Swiss service in 1981. Image credit: Comet Photo AG (Zürich) ETH-Bibliothek Zürich, Bildarchiv via Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Normally, a country selling existing military equipment must make sure that the manufacturer or a country of origin does not object.
For example, if Lithuania wanted to sell its Panzerhaubitze 2000 self-propelled howitzers, it would have to ask Germany for permission. This ensures that military technology is not transferred to those whom the arms producer is not willing to help. It is a very simple, but important system, which has been in place for decades.
However, Germany once sold a number of Leopard 2A4 tanks to Switzerland, and now, when buying them back, they must comply with the conditions imposed by Switzerland. And, this is despite the fact that Germany is the country of origin when it comes to these tanks.
Germany has handed over a number of Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, which means that Ukraine already has that technology. However, these Swiss Leopard 2s will not be sent to Ukraine.
The Federal Council of Switzerland approved the decision to export 25 Leopard 2A4 main battle tanks to their original manufacturer, Rheinmetall, but not before Germany assured that these tanks would remain in Germany, on the territory of NATO or its EU partners.
Why? Switzerland is famously a neutral country. This policy also includes the transfer of arms to countries in active conflict. That is, Switzerland cannot support Ukraine by military means even through other countries. Switzerland cannot sell tanks to Germany knowing that it will give them to Ukraine or other countries at war.
But this deal is not bad for Ukraine. Those Leopard 2A4s will cover the holes in the European armoured forces created by the donations of tanks to Ukraine. In addition, perhaps this will allow Germany and other partners to send more of these tanks to Ukraine, replacing them with those received from Switzerland.
Switzerland once bought 370 Leopard 2A4 tanks. They entered service with the country’s army in 1987. Now it is believed that only 134 of these tanks are still in service and are being upgraded. However, many Leopard 2A4s in Switzerland are sitting in storage and can be prepared for deployment relatively quickly at their manufacturer Rheinmetall.
Written by Povilas M.
Sources: Censor.net, Wikipedia