Rheinmetall awarded Leopard 2 upgrade work
Rheinmetall is to perform work on the programme to upgrade 104 Leopard 2 main battle tanks (MBT) of the German armed forces, the company announced on 27 September.
Coupled with additional services, the modernisation package is worth $138 million.
The upgrades will be executed on a total of 68 Leopard 2A4, 16 Leopard 2A6 and 20 Leopard 2A7 MBTs, bringing them up to the A7V standard.
As part of the work, Rheinmetall will eliminate obsolescent features in the vehicles’ fire control computers and control consoles as well as installing a new laser rangefinder and a thermal imaging device.
Rheinmetall will also supply the new L55A1 gun for the 68 Leopard 2A4 MBTs enabling them to fire the latest generation of armour-piercing ammunition in the upper-pressure zone.
All 104 Leopard 2A7V tanks will also be capable of using Rheinmetall’s new programmable DM11 multipurpose round.
The first serially retrofitted Leopard 2 A7V tanks will reach the Bundeswehr starting in 2020.
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