Greece orders Rheinmetall Leopard 2 tank ammo
Rheinmetall will supply the armed forces of Greece with 12,000 rounds of 120mm ammunition for the Greek Army’s Leopard 2 tanks under a €52 million contract announced on 15 August.
Greece purchased 353 Leopard 2 main battle tanks in 2009, and this contract marks the first purchase of 120mm ammunition to arm them.
The contract will see Rheinmetall supply 120mm DM12A2 multipurpose ammunition as well as DM63 and DM63A1 kinetic energy (KE) rounds. The DM12A2 and the DM63 will be supplied to the Greek Army by the end of 2014 in order to meet an immediate requirement. The DM63A1 will be delivered in three lots in 2015 and 2016 following the planned new qualification of this round early next year.
Rheinmetall will also produce and install ballistic tables for the KE ammunition in the Greek Leopard 2A4.
The ammunition is being supplied via Germany’s Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-service Support (BAAINBw) in Koblenz. The defence ministries of Germany and Greece laid the contractual groundwork for this procedure in an agreement reached at the beginning of 2014.
Local company and Rheinmetall’s Greek partner, Hellenic Defence Systems, will produce components to be built into the DM63A1.
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