According to information published by the Defense Minister of Finland on December 7, 2021, the Ministry of Defense has authorized the Defense Forces to sign an agreement with the German Krauss-Maffei Wegmann GmbH & Co KG to upgrade the fire control system of the Army’s Leopard 2 A4 and Leopard 2A6 main battle tanks. The work is scheduled to start at the beginning of 2022 and to be completed during 2026.
Finland bought 124 used Leopard 2A4 tanks and six armored bridge-layer Leopard 2L tanks from Germany in 2002 and 2003. Finland has also acquired 100 second-hand Leopard 2A6 from the Netherlands that were delivered between 2015 and 2019. According to the military balance 2020, the Finnish army has a total 100 Leopard 2A6 and 100 Leopard 2A4 in store.
The performance of Leopard 2 A4 and 2 A6 battle tanks procured from Germany and the Netherlands will be upgraded. The expert resources of Millog Oy, the strategic partner of the Defense Forces, will also be used for installation work and logistics, with a domestic employment effect of approximately 3 to 4 person-years.
The overall value of the procurement, with options and without value added tax, is about EUR 10 million. It will be financed by the funds for defense material procurement that are budgeted for this purpose.