Yesterday, 19 November, in Munich, and in the presence of German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, the official presentation ceremony was held for the first units of the LEOPARD 2A8 and LEOPARD 2A8 NO MBTs, destined respectively for the German and Norwegian Armies.

Germany has ordered 123 MBTs of this type (with initial deliveries scheduled for 2027), while Norway has ordered 54. To these must be added the 44 tanks ordered by Lithuania, 46 by the Netherlands (+6 options), and 44 by the Czech Republic (+14 options), for a total of 257 LEOPARD 2A8s procured under a broader intergovernmental framework agreement.

The platform, produced by KNDS Germany and representing a further evolution of the previous LEOPARD 2A7V (and A7A1) variants, is equipped with the TROPHY Active Protection System (APS) developed by Israel’s Rafael—now capable of intercepting drones in addition to anti-tank missiles and HEAT projectiles—and features enhanced rooftop protection for the turret.

It is worth emphasising that these are newly built vehicles (whereas most, if not all, of the upgraded LEOPARD 2 variants delivered to date were based on older hulls), a fact that has made it possible to introduce significant improvements in onboard electronics and mission equipment.

Both the main gun and the engine remain those installed on the LEOPARD 2A7V: respectively the 120 mm L55A1 by Rheinmetall and the 1,500 HP (1,100 kW) MTU powerpack.

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