WARSAW, Poland — The Croatian Ministry of Defense has placed an order for 44 Leopard 2A8 tanks, a deal valued at almost €1.5 billion ($1.8 billion).
The contract was signed by Ivan Anušić, Croatian deputy prime minister and defense minister, in the presence of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Croatia’s Prime Minister Andrej Plenković on Dec. 10 during an official visit of Croatian leaders to Berlin.
In his remarks at the official signing event, Plenković said the purchase is facilitated by the European Union’s low-cost loans for defense acquisitions under the bloc’s Security Action For Europe (SAFE) scheme. Brussels has made available a debt fund of some €150 billion to enable urgent purchases of new weapons and military gear by its member states, focusing on closing critical capability gaps.
“Of the 1.7 billion euros approved for Croatia, a part of these funds will be used to finance the procurement of 44 Leopard 2A8 tanks,” Plenković was quoted in a statement released by the Croatian ministry.
“Croatia is gradually abandoning eastern military technology and moving to Western technology, and the partnership with Germany, through this and other examples, is one of the ways we continuously strengthen cooperation in the field of defense.”
Under the plan, deliveries of the Leopards for the Croatian land forces are to take place between 2028 and 2030, according to the defense ministry.
Using SAFE funds, Croatia is joining the joint 2A8 acquisition by Germany and a number of other NATO countries. The Croatian Army is set to become another Eastern European military to operate the KNDS-made vehicle, alongside the armed forces of the Czech Republic and Lithuania. The joint procurement also involves the Netherlands and Norway.
The manufacturer unveiled the 2A8 variant of the tank in November, the first comprehensive rebuild for the Leopard series to be rolled out since 1992.
Jaroslaw Adamowski is the Poland correspondent for Defense News.
