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.
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If confirmed, the deal would be certain to upset France, which, in 2017, agreed with Berlin to develop a joint Franco-German tank to succeed the German Leopard 2 and the French Leclerc in a project beset by delays and disagreements.
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. A spokesperson for Rheinmetall declined to comment on the report. A spokesperson for KMW could not immediately comment.
The newspaper said the partners in the deal were planning to apply to the European Defence Fund for funding amounting to a three-digit million euro sum, adding the project would also involve Sweden’s Saab and Italy’s Leonardo. It did not identify which Spanish company would be involved.