The Hellenic Ministry of Defence and Krauss-Maffei Wegmann have signed a contract concerning the procurement of 170 new Leopard 2 HEL (Hellenic) Main Battle Tanks for the Hellenic Army on 20th March 2003.
Apart from the Leopard 2, the scope of supply contains further heavy vehicles in the Leopard family, such as armored recovery vehicles and armored vehicle launched bridges, and also includes services in the fields of logistics and training and simulation.
The vehicles will be delivered between 2006 and 2009.
The Leopard 2, with Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) being the general contractor, is the most successful Main Battle Tank in the world, and Greece's procurement decision means that it is now deployed by 11 European countries. The Leopard 2 therefore rightly bears the name "Euro-Leopard".
The Leopard 2 was able to beat off five rivals from Europe and the USA in the face of hard competition.
The excellent experience that the Hellenic User has had with the Leopard 1 and the trusting business relationship stretching back almost 20 years between Greece and KMW in the fields of main battle tanks, simulators, and more recently also artillery and air defense systems, were certainly major factors in the decision to purchase the most powerful and up-to-date Main Battle Tank available.
The wide-ranging co-production and offset programs will utilize the industrial capacities that exist in all regions of Greece and secure numerous jobs over the complete term of the project and beyond.
The co-production activities will involve not only the well-known Greek industrial companies, such as Elbo, Ebo, Metka and Intracom, but also numerous smaller enterprises in Greece.
The decision in favor of the Euro-Leopard 2 and the extensive industrial cooperation agreements mean that European collaboration in the field of army technology will be further strengthened.
The Hellenic soldiers will receive the best equipment for their demanding responsibilities in the form of the most modern version of the Leopard 2, the Leopard 2 HEL.
Dr. Manfred Bode, CEO of Krauss-Maffei Wegmann, said: "Krauss-Maffei Wegmann is proud to have acquired yet another user country for the Leopard 2 with Greece."