Germany to acquire hundreds of armored vehicles
PHOTO CAPTION: Illustrative photo — A Lithuanian “Vilkas” Boxer Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV) is seen during a training exercise. (Lithuanian Armed Forces photo)
By Markus Wacket
BERLIN - The German government will order 424 new wheeled armoured vehicles for almost 7 billion euros ($8.11 billion), according to finance ministry documents seen by Reuters on Monday.
The lower house of parliament's budget committee is set to approve the arms deal for the country's army in the next few days.
The largest part of the Bundeswehr deal is a framework agreement with the defence group General Dynamics for the development and procurement of 274 scout vehicles worth around 3.5 billion euros, with the first deliveries planned for 2028.
The second project entails the procurement of 150 "Schakal" wheeled armoured infantry fighting vehicles for around 3.4 billion euros.
Germany will award the Schakal contract via European defence procurement agency OCCAR to Artec GmbH, a joint venture between KNDS and Rheinmetall.
Delivery of the fighting vehicles is scheduled to take place between 2027 and 2031.
An option to purchase a further 82 scout tanks from General Dynamics could bring the volume of the first order to 356 vehicles or up to 4.6 billion euros.
The purchase of Schakal fighting vehicles could also be expanded at a later stage, with an option for up to 200 additional vehicles.
($1 = 0.8627 euros)
(Reporting by Markus Wacket, Writing by Bernadette HoggEditing by Ludwig Burger // REUTERS)
