Croatia is procuring Leopard 2A8s, whose standard equipment includes the Trophy active protection system, pictured at the roll out of the MBT on 29 October for the German Army. (Bundeswehr/Volker Muth)
Croatia is procuring Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks (MBTs) and High Mobility Artillery Systems (HIMARS), Croatian Vice-President and Defence Minister Ivan Anušić told parliament on 5 November. Answering a parliamentary question, he said Croatia would procure 40–50 Leopard 2A8s, with serial production beginning after the contract is signed and deliveries two years after the signing.
The price of the MBTs will be reduced by the amount of financial support that Croatia will receive from Germany for providing armoured vehicles for Ukraine under a letter of intent (LoI) signed between the two countries. Anušić and German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius signed an LoI in Berlin on 28 October for the two countries to deliver 30 M-84 tanks and 30 M-80 infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) produced in the former Yugoslavia, including spare parts and ammunition, to Ukraine from Croatian stocks.
On the day of the signing, Pistorius said, “The first tanks are to be delivered to Ukraine this year… The fact that Croatia is striving for the joint procurement of Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with us strengthens Germany as an industrial location and ensures common standards within NATO.”
It will be the largest procurement for the Croatian Army since the Homeland War (war of independence), according to Anušić.
Regarding other procurements, Anušić said Croatia would receive eight Bradley IFVs and sign a contract with the US for HIMARS by the end of 2024.
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