Germany plans to order 105 tanks "Leopard 2A8" (Leopard 2A8) from arms manufacturer KNDS worth 2.93 billion euros ($3.14 billion), Reuters reported, citing a confidential draft budget, BTA reports.
The draft budget must first be approved by the parliament.
Some of the machines will equip the German combat brigade in Lithuania, which was created as part of NATO's deterrent measures against Russia, according to the document, which was first reported by the magazine "Spiegel". The rest will reinforce the tank forces in Germany.
The Bundeswehr (German armed forces) expects to receive the most advanced version of the "Leopard" between 2027 and 2030.
The document notes that most of the purchase has not yet been financed because there are not enough funds in the regular budget and in special funds worth 100 billion euros created after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The draft budget states that for this reason the Ministry of Defense is seeking unusual financial clearance, meaning that while the deal could be approved now, some future government would have to find funding for the purchase.
Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has been fighting for months to allocate more money to the defense budget, but has yet to make progress as negotiations over the distribution of budget funds in Germany's fragmented coalition government drag on, Reuters notes.