After seeing the Leopard 2’s success in the Ukraine war, Croatia has decided to procure the advanced tank platform.
Croatia is the latest nation to pen a procurement deal for the German-designed Leopard 2A8 main battle tank (MBT) series. As part of the whopping $1.48 billion deal to purchase nearly four dozen armored vehicles from Berlin, Zagreb is displaying its desire to revamp its largely Yugoslav-era military arsenal. “Croatia is gradually abandoning eastern military technology and moving to Western technology, and the partnership with Germany is one of the ways we continuously strengthen cooperation in the field of defense,” Croatian defense minister Ivan Anusic said.
Croatia, a NATO member, has ramped up its defense spending recently, with a recent 18.2 percent rise in 2025. By 2027, the Adriatic nation expects to exceed its 2 percent of GDP in defense spending goal. Notably, the Leopard deal is made possible via the European Union’s low-cost loans for defense acquisitions under the bloc’s Security Action for Europe (SAFE) program. “Of the 1.7 billion euros approved for Croatia, a part of these funds will be used to finance the procurement of 44 Leopard 2A8 tanks,” Plenković added in a statement released by the Croatian ministry.
About the Leopard 2A8 Tank
- Year Introduced: 2025
- Number Built: Approximately 430 tanks on order
- Length: 25.3 feet
- Total weight, battle-ready: 70 tons
- Suspensions: Torsion bar suspension system
- Engine: 1,600 HP engine
- Armament: 120mm L/55 A1 smoothbore barrel.
- Top Speed: 40 miles per hour (70 Km/h)
- Range: 280 miles (450 kilometers)
- Crew: Four
West Germany designed the third-generation Leopard 2 MBT as a replacement for its Leopard 1 predecessor in the 1970s. At the time, the country required a new and improved tank platform that could better counter and overcome the Soviet Union’s superior tanks. Overall, the Leopard 2 features significant enhancements over the earlier variant. In addition to being more mobile, the MBT is better armored and is equipped with a larger main gun. As explained by Popular Mechanics, “The Rh-120 is highly accurate while shooting on the move due to a two-axis stabilization system that counteracts the tank’s movement against the position of the Rh-120 gun barrel. Older tanks need to come to a halt to fire accurately at enemy targets, an action that collectively slows an attacking force’s momentum.”
The Leopard 2’s success in Ukraine likely impacted Croatia’s procurement decision. In response to Moscow’s invasion of its territory, Kyiv requested a slew of advanced military equipment from the United States and its NATO allies beginning at the onset of the war in 2022. From main battle tanks and fighter jets to air defense batteries and other munitions, Ukraine’s forces currently field a vast array of Western-delivered weaponry. The Leopard 2, in addition to the American-made M1 Abrams and French-made Challenger MBTs, has elevated Kyiv’s abilities on the frontlines of the ongoing conflict. The initial batch of Leopard 2 tanks was delivered to Ukraine in early 2023. Today, roughly 19 nations operate the Leopard 2 series, making it a favorite among NATO nations and beyond.
About the Author: Maya Carlin
Maya Carlin, national security writer with The National Interest, is an analyst with the Center for Security Policy and a former Anna Sobol Levy Fellow at IDC Herzliya in Israel. She has over 1,000 articles published over the last several years on various defense issues. Carlin has bylines in many publications, including The National Interest, Jerusalem Post, and Times of Israel. You can follow her on Twitter: @MayaCarlin.
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