The German government plans to order over 600 Skyranger 30 short-range air defense systems from "Rheinmetall" before the end of the year, "Reuters" and "Handelsblatt" reported, quoted by News.bg.
The contract for the turret and the vehicle, in this case the Boxer wheeled armored vehicle, produced jointly with the Franco-German defense company KNDS, is estimated at more than nine billion euros.
Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said last week that Germany would start ordering several hundred Skyranger tanks in the coming months. So far, 19.
"I don't want to talk about numbers", a spokesman for the German Defense Ministry said at a regular government press conference in Berlin when asked about the order for 600 tanks.
Rheinmetall"s Skyranger mobile air defense systems are specifically designed to protect against low-flying targets.
Air defense is in the spotlight in Europe amid growing concerns that Russia may be behind a growing number of recent drone incursions into the airspace of Ukraine's European allies.
The Kremlin has denied any involvement.