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☆ Germany Forges Pact for Leopard 2 Successor in Snub to Paris - Handelsblatt
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Sept. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany has signed agreements with Italy, Spain and Sweden on the development of a successor to the Leopard 2 tank, German business daily Handelsblatt reported on Wednesday. The initiative is to take place under the leadership of Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) and Rheinmetall, the German arms makers building the Leopard 2, Handelsblatt reported, citing unnamed industry and political sources. The German defence ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The defence ministry in Paris and the office of President Emmanuel Macron did not immediately respond to requests for comment. It cited French government sources as saying the topic would be raised at Franco-German government consultations scheduled for the start of October.

Persons: French Leclerc, Maffei, Handelsblatt, Sweden's, Italy's Leonardo, Emmanuel Macron, Friederike Heine, Sabine Siebold, Michel Rose, Andrew Cawthorne, Alison Williams Organizations: BERLIN, Krauss, Rheinmetall, European Defence Fund, Sweden's Saab, Franco Locations: Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden, France, Berlin, Franco, French, Spanish, Europe, U.S, Africa, Russia, Paris

☆ Germany forges pact for Leopard 2 successor in snub to Paris, Handelsblatt reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BERLIN, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Germany has signed agreements with Italy, Spain and Sweden on the development of a successor to the Leopard 2 tank, German business daily Handelsblatt reported on Wednesday. The German defence ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The delays to the proposed Franco-German project have strained ties already tested by differences over energy topics and the question to what extent Europe should become independent from the U.S. in its security policy. The defence ministry in Paris and the office of President Emmanuel Macron did not immediately respond to requests for comment. It cited French government sources as saying the topic would be raised at Franco-German government consultations scheduled for the start of October.

Persons: French Leclerc, Maffei, Handelsblatt, Sweden's, Italy's Leonardo, Emmanuel Macron, Friederike Heine, Sabine Siebold, Michel Rose, Andrew Cawthorne, Alison Williams Organizations: Krauss, Rheinmetall, European Defence Fund, Sweden's Saab, Franco, Thomson Locations: Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden, France, Berlin, Franco, French, Spanish, Europe, U.S, Africa, Russia, Paris

☆ Offensive tactics and leadership rise to top of Kyiv's training wish list
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( Sabine Siebold | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

In January, Western nations pledged to send to Ukraine several dozen modern Leopard 2 tanks, a scarce asset in most armies today. Scrambling to find more heavy armour for Kyiv, they later also turned to the industry's mothballed Leopard 1 tanks. Citing reasons of operational security, Marlow declined to give a number for the Ukrainian tank crews trained and tanks delivered so far. However, he said that the training of the next Ukrainian Leopard 1 crews would start as soon as the current round of training wraps up next week. "We are strongly motivated to defend our fatherland, and this is the best remedy for fear," he said.

Persons: Annegret, General Andreas Marlow, Marlow, Sabine Siebold, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Leopard, European Union Military Assistance, EUMAM, REUTERS, Command, IRIS, KMW, Germany's Bundeswehr, Ukrainian, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, EUMAM Ukraine, Klietz, Germany, Berlin, Kyiv, Denmark, Ukrainian

☆ NATO pushes for common standards to tackle shortfalls in artillery munitions
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Sabine Siebold | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

But the lack of common standards among the various manufacturers has hampered the flow of munitions supplies. It will take place on the sidelines of a NATO defence ministers' meeting in Brussels on Thursday and Friday. Demand for 155mm artillery rounds has soared in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. "If national governments could bring themselves to throw national standards over board and agree on common NATO standards – in particular with regard to munitions – this would be a landslide change," the defence source said. Before that many NATO countries had already run down their stocks as governments considered wars of attrition with big artillery battles a thing of the past.

Persons: Caesar, Jens Stoltenberg, KMW, Leonardo, Northrop, Abrams, Armin Papperger, Sabine Siebold, Gwladys Fouche, Angus MacSwan Organizations: Separate Artillery Brigade, REUTERS, NATO, BAE Systems, Turkish, Dynamics, Leopard, Lockheed, Northrop Grumman, British Storm Shadow, Rheinmetall, RND, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Avdiivka, Donetsk region, BRUSSELS, Kyiv, NATO, Brussels, Kongsberg, Vilnius, Oslo

☆ German makers of Leopard 2 tank settle legal dispute
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

DUESSELDORF, May 2 (Reuters) - German arms makers Rheinmetall (RHMG.DE) and Krauss-Maffei Wegmann have settled a legal dispute over the intellectual property rights to the Leopard 2, one of the world's most advanced battle tanks, a court said on Tuesday. A boom in defence orders due to the war in Ukraine, and in particular demand for Leopard tanks from Kyiv to help in the fight against Russian forces, has boosted both companies. Duesseldorf-based Rheinmetall makes the cannon of the Leopard 2 and Munich-based KMW makes its chassis. Rheinmetall said both parties had sought to settle the dispute as quickly as possible with the aim of returning to day-to-day business. Earlier this year, Germany bowed to pressure from allies and agreed to send Leopard tanks to Ukraine.

Bowing to pressure from allies, Germany's government this year agreed to send Leopard tanks to Ukraine, one of the big ticket items sought by Kyiv as it gears up to mount a counteroffensive against Russian forces. Duesseldorf-based Rheinmetall makes the cannon of the Leopard 2 while the Munich-based KMW makes its chassis. A district court in Munich in a statement on Tuesday said KMW was seeking legal protection to prevent Rheinmetall from making statements it saw as "untrue, misleading factual assertions that violate its rights". Higher defence spending pushed Rheinmetall to record earnings last year and saw the company enter Germany's DAX blue-chip index. ($1 = 0.9106 euros)Writing by Matthias Williams Editing by Alexandra HudsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Rheinmetall and KMW to upgrade Puma armoured vehicles for German army
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 19 (Reuters) - Rheinmetall (RHMG.DE) and Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) have received an order from the German army to upgrade 143 Puma infantry fighting vehicles, the companies said on WednesdayThe order for their joint venture PSM is valued at around 770 million euros ($843.92 million), they said in a joint statement. According to the companies, they will retrofit the armoured vehicles with key capabilities for firepower and command and control by 2029. The contract, which was signed in 2021, included two options for modernising the vehicles, both of which Berlin has decided to execute now. In late 2022, the German government said it would not purchase any more Pumas until they had proven themselves reliable, after several were put out of service during a military drill. ($1 = 0.9124 euros)Reporting by Andrey Sychev, Editing by Rachel MoreOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Rheinmetall wins subcontractor role on Norway's Leopard tank order
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 14 (Reuters) - Rheinmetall has been hired as a subcontractor in the Norwegian armed forces' order for 54 Leopard 2 battle tanks from Krauss-Maffei Wegman (KMW), the German manufacturer said on Friday. Rheinmetall said the contract was worth 129 million euros ($142.74 million) and could increase by 44 million euros if Norway executes an option to buy an additional 18 tanks. A key subcontractor to KMW, Rheinmetall will supply components such as main armaments, fire control technology and parts of the sensor suite over a period of around four years, it said in a statement. Norway had originally planned to acquire 72 tanks, but in recent months focused on a scaled-down purchase after its chief of defence recommended spending more on helicopters, drones and long-range artillery. ($1 = 0.9038 euros)Reporting by Andrey Sychev, Editing by Friederike HeineOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Belgian arms trader tangles with minister over tanks for Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Andrew Gray | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

REUTERS/Yves HermanTOURNAI, Belgium, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Freddy Versluys does not like to be called an arms dealer. Tanks sold for 10-15,000 euros each are being offered for sale at 500,000 euros, despite not being operational, she has said. That would mean a unit price of 40,000 euros for 50 tanks, or some 60,600 euros for 33. The Leopard 1 is the predecessor of the Leopard 2 tanks that Germany, Poland, Finland and other countries agreed last month to send to Ukraine. He worked as an engineer in the Belgian military before going into business.

☆ The US's powerful Abrams tanks are heading to Ukraine, but generals disagree over how hard it'll be to use them on the battlefield
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Sebastien Roblin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +19 min

The US has pledged to send Abrams tanks to Ukraine, joining a bevy of Western-made tanks. Here comes the M1 Abrams for UkraineA M1A2 Abrams tank fires at a target during an exercise. The same day, word spread that US President Joe Biden would announce he was sending 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine. But Hertling disagreed that withholding the M1 Abrams was a "political decision" and didn't find the examples of non-US Abrams operators persuasive. M1 Abrams: training and sustainmentAn M1A2 Abrams drives into the woods during an exercise in Hohenfels, Germany.

☆ Germany pauses purchases of Puma tanks after operational problems
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Rachel More | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Shares in Rheinmetall (RHMG.DE), which manufactures the tanks together with Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW), were down 7% after the minister's announcement. A statement from the German defence ministry said the goal was to make the Puma tanks operational as soon as possible. Meanwhile, the German Bundeswehr military would use Marder tanks, the predecessor model to the Puma, from Jan. 1, in what a ministry spokesperson called a "fall-back solution". Neither Rheinmetall nor KMW would comment on the issues with the Puma model. The Spiegel magazine reported over the weekend that 18 Puma tanks intended for NATO's very high readiness joint task force next year were not operational after problems arose during a firing exercise.

☆ Germany to send seven additional Gepard tanks to Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, Dec 2 (Reuters) - Germany is preparing to deliver seven Gepard tanks to Ukraine, adding to the 30 air-defence tanks that are already being used to fight against the Russian army, according to a German government website. According to Spiegel magazine, which first reported the number of additional tanks, the seven Gepards, which were initially destined for the scrap pile, should arrive in Ukraine in Spring 2023 and are currently being repaired by Munich-based arms manufacturer Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW). The German government also aims to send more ammunition for the Gepards along with the additional tanks, Spiegel reported. Supply of ammunition for the Gepard has proven problematic as Switzerland, which has stocks of ammunition, refuses to supply it, citing its neutral status. Writing by Miranda Murray, editing by Rachel More and Alex RichardsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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