Leopard 2A4 Battle tank - Switzerland
The Pz 87 Leo (Leopard 2) was procured for the mechanised units of the Swiss Armed Forces with Armament Program 84 (AP 84). Of the 380 Pz 87 Leo originally deployed with the forces between 1987 and 1993, 134 combat vehicles were subjected to a quality maintenance program with Armament Program 06. The battle tanks, which have reached the first half of their planned service life, are adapted to the changed requirements with the necessary maintenance work.
Of the Pz 87 Leo decommissioned in connection with the reduction, twelve vehicles were converted to armoured engineer and mine clearing vehicles. This special tank, which is used in combination with the Pz 87 Leo, is based on the tank chassis with corresponding new superstructures and additional equipment for the engineer service and for mine clearing.
On 18 November 2010 Switzerland sold 42 surplus Leopard 2 Battle Tanks (Pz 87 Leo) to the manufacturer. The battle tanks supplied without armament and further components will be converted to protected special vehicles. Following the reduction of military strengths in connection with Armed Forces 95 and Armed Forces XXI, various weapon systems were decommissioned, mothballed, sold, or disposed of. The Leopard 2 Battle Tank (Pz 87 Leo) is one of many systems which are no longer needed in the originally procured quantity. Part of the Pz 87 Leo fleet was therefore mothballed at various storage sites.
Since in its Armed Forces Report the Federal council defined the basic data for a smaller defence force, the way was cleared for the sale of the Pz 87 Leo no longer needed, or parts thereof. From the units of the Pz 87 Leo fleet of the Swiss Armed Forces, which are not foreseen for the quality maintenance program and not among the vehicles designated as spare material, 42 vehicles are now sold to the German company Rheinmetall Landsysteme, which will use these vehicles as basis (chassis) for support vehicles.
Takeover of the vehicles destined for Rheinmetall began in 2010. Rheinmetall Landsysteme is part of the consortium in the Federal Republic of Germany, which produced the Leopard 2 Battle Tank. The Pz 87 Leo delivered to Rheinmetall Landsysteme are not sold in fully equipped condition. Among others, the following assemblies are removed: armament, radio-and inter-phone systems. The components which are not supplied are used as spare parts by the Swiss Armed Forces.
armasuisse, the Competence Center for the procurement of complex systems, was tasked by the Head DDPS with the performance of the contract and the sale of the surplus equipment. Sales of surplus armaments are subject to the War Material Ordinance, and to approval by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) in Bern, and are in compliance with the Federal Council decision of 10 March 2006. The parties agreed not to disclose the terms of sale.
Leopard 2 to Ukraine
Acquiring Leopard 2s from Switzerland would allow Germany to send more of the tanks it already has to Ukraine, while restocking its units with the ex-Swiss vehicles. In this way, although Switzerland refused to supply weapons to an active war zone, it could indirectly arm Ukraine by significantly enlarging the German tank fleet.
The Swiss military currently had 134 Leopard 2 tanks in service and a further 96 in storage as of early 2023. Germany asked Switzerland to sell some of its decommissioned Leopard 2 tanks in a deal that would replenish arsenals of countries sending tanks to Ukraine. The request, which came from the German Defence Minister and Economics Minister to Swiss Defence Minister Viola Amherd, was first reported by the Swiss newspaper Blick on March 3, 2023. The request was made in a letter dated February 23, the paper said.
Germany wanted Switzerland to sell some of the old tanks back to the German manufacturer Rheinmetall, which would allow the company to replace tanks that European Union and NATO members have supplied to Ukraine. Amherd replied in a letter on March 1 that a possible sale of part of the Swiss tank fleet would require the Swiss parliament to declare the tanks out of service, according to a comment from the Swiss defence ministry sent to Reuters. Amherd said that once Switzerland’s defence needs are met, there will be a “certain number of tanks that we will not need and that we can make available if parliament declares them out of service”.
“From the army’s point of view, it would be possible in principle to dispense with a limited number of battle tanks, minus those necessary for Switzerland’s own needs,” Defence Ministry spokesman Lorenz Frischknecht announced. He confirmed that on February 23 German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius and Economy Minister Robert Habeck formally proposed to purchase 96 tanks, adding that the Army had begun to study the issue but that the final decision would like with the Swiss parliament. The German Defence Ministry subsequently confirmed Berlin’s interest in acquisitions of Swiss Leopard 2 tanks.
“Discussions on this issue are currently under way in parliament,” the defence department spokesperson added. No information was given on when parliament will make a decision but the government said it would comment further on the issue. Under its neutrality laws and a separate arms embargo, Switzerland is prohibited from sending weapons directly to Ukraine. Bern has previously blocked requests from Germany, Spain and Denmark to allow Swiss-made munitions and military equipment they have previously bought to be re-exported to Ukraine.
"The tanks will not be sold onto Ukraine. We guarantee that they will remain in Germany or with our partners in NATO and the EU, to plug gaps that have emerged through the transfer of Leopard 2 tanks (to Ukraine) and to improve the supply with spare parts in general," the German letter said.
However, the Swiss public and politicians are increasingly divided on the issue, as calls from European neighbours for Switzerland to allow exports grew louder and Russia intensifies its assault on Ukraine. In a press conference a German defence ministry spokesperson said that the country would not send these Leopard 2 tanks onwards to Ukraine if Switzerland agreed to send them as requested by Berlin.
The German government's request for tanks to Federal Councilor Viola Amherd caused heated discussions. As Blick made public on 03 March 2023, Germany proposed that Switzerland sell part of its decommissioned Leopard 2 tanks to the armaments company Rheinmetall. In the letter from Berlin, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (62, SPD) and Economics Minister Robert Habeck (53, Greens) ask the VBS boss to fulfill Rheinmetall's purchase request. "We would be extremely grateful if you could agree to the Swiss Army's repurchase of Leopard 2 main battle tanks from Rheinmetall."
Due to the war of aggression against Ukraine, there was an increased international demand for battle tanks and spare parts for these systems. "German industry is keen to be able to meet the demands of its customers as quickly as possible and thus to ensure the operation of our systems and those of our allies." The German government refers to the "close and trusting relations in the field of security and military policy" between Germany and Switzerland and guarantees that the tanks will not be forwarded to Ukraine.
Pistorius and Habeck write: "It is guaranteed that it will end up in Germany or with our partners in NATO and the EU in order to close the gaps caused by the sale of Leopard 2 tanks and to improve the overall supply of spare parts." A spokeswoman for the German Ministry of Defense confirmed to SonntagsBlick: "It is not intended to use these as a replacement for the tanks that the Bundeswehr is handing over to Ukraine."
Some thought it was more likely that Rheinmetall wants to sell the tanks to other NATO countries, including Spain and Poland. The two countries deliver exactly those Leopard models to the Ukraine that are unused in a warehouse in eastern Switzerland. It is also possible that Rheinmetall's interest is not aimed at the Swiss Leopards as a whole, but at individual parts. Insiders assumed that spare parts for repairs will be needed just a few months after the deliveries to the Ukraine.
Swiss President Alain Berset expressed scepticism March 8, 2023 about requests from Germany and the Czech Republic to Switzerland to buy back old Leopard 2 tanks to replace tanks used by EU and NATO members in Ukraine. “Arms exports are not possible as long as we have a legal framework in Switzerland... for the government we must keep, and we intend to keep, this legal framework and work within it,” he told reporters during his visit to the United Nations headquarters in New York.
"The discussion about the export of arms, weapons... while we have (our) legal framework in Switzerland, it is not possible to do it," Berset, who currently holds the country's rotating one-year presidency, told reporters on the margins of UN meetings on women's rights. "For the government and for the Federal Council, we have to, and we want to, maintain this legal framework and to work in this legal framework," he said.
Berset, who met in New York with UN chief Antonio Guterres just before the Secretary-General traveled to Ukraine, noted that the Swiss parliament "has a lot of possibilities to change the laws." He said "If the parliament would agree to change this legal framework, then we will work in the context of this new legal framework, but we will also take time". But, he emphasized, "It's not possible to make exception to the legal framework."
Parliament has the final say on whether mothballed Leopard tanks stored in Switzerland can be declared “out of service” and sold to European partners. According to Swiss law, only decommissioned war materiel can be sold.
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