COLOGNE, Germany — Germany’s KNDS this week unveiled the Leopard 2A8, the latest version of the venerable main battle tank that has become a staple of armored formations for more than a dozen countries in Europe and beyond.
The tank will be a new build, the first for the Leopard series since 1992, according to German defense officials, after several previous versions that were modernizations of existing tanks. The German army is slated to get 123 of the behemoths weighing nearly 70 metrics ton, with deliveries beginning in 2027 and to be finalized in 2030.
New features include a locally-produced version of the Trophy active protection system by Israel’s Rafael designed to fend off incoming projectiles. German officials tested Trophy on a previous iteration of the Leopard tank and decided to make it standard equipment for the new series.
According to a Ministry of Defense statement, additional improvements in the A8 variant include better armor and an overall rework of situational-awareness and fire-control features for the crew.
As in previous Leopard iterations, Rheinmetall’s 120mm smooth-bore main cannon will remain part of the weapons package.
The first batch of new Leopards is slated for a Bundeswehr armored formation in Lithuania, Germany’s first permanent deployment of troops outside its borders since World War II. The unit there is part of Berlin’s contributions to securing countries on NATO’s eastern flank that are deemed vulnerable to Russian aggression.
The brigade-strong unit of 5,000 personnel is slated to achieve full operational status in 2027, coinciding with the first year of Leopard 2A8 deliveries.
Besides Germany, order books for the new Leopard are filling up, with Lithuania, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic and Norway all planning to add the type to their armies.
Sebastian Sprenger is associate editor for Europe at Defense News, reporting on the state of the defense market in the region, and on U.S.-Europe cooperation and multi-national investments in defense and global security. Previously he served as managing editor for Defense News. He is based in Cologne, Germany.
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