Belgium wants to send old tanks to Ukraine, but has encountered an unexpected problem

Norway’s tanks of the same type have already been cut up. But the model can still be useful in war, experts say.

In the last week, NATO countries have announced one by one that they will send tanks to Ukraine. The US will send 31 Abrahams tanks, Germany will send 14 Leopard 2 tanks and the British will send their Challenger 2.

Belgium will also contribute. The only problem is that the country’s army sold off its last tanks in 2014, for 15,000 euros per tank. piece.

The buyer was a Belgian arms dealer, and since then dozens of older Leopard 1 tanks have been stored in a warehouse in the country. Now the authorities want to buy them back. But the arms dealer has raised the price to up to 500,000 euros per tanks, writes the Flemish broadcaster VRT News.

– The price they are demanding so far is extremely high, says Belgian Defense Minister Ludivine Dedonder to the channel’s reporter.

– And they are still in as bad a condition as when we sold them.

Arms dealer Freddy Versluys agrees. He tells VRT News that it is not just about sending the tanks off in their current state. They will need repairs and upgrades at a cost that may exceed the selling price.

The Belgian authorities are now in negotiations with the arms dealer.

Has become a nail

Norway has also had Leopard 1 tanks. The model is from Germany and was produced from 1965 until well into the 1980s. But Norway has gotten rid of its tanks of that type and today uses the more modern Leopard 2.

– They have become nails. Most of them have been chopped up, apart from the occasional museum object, says spokesperson for the Army, command sergeant Rolf Ytterstad.

– It happened in the extension that we got Leopard 2.

Norway currently has 36 Leopard 2A4 tanks. The government has decided that some of these will be sent to Ukraine, but Defense Minister Bjørn Arild Gram has not wanted to say how many.

Norway also has some tanks built on Leopard 1 chassis in the “salvage armor” category, which are used to salvage tanks with mechanical problems.

– They are useful tanks

War material generally has a high price tag now, due to many orders, points out Tom Røseth. He is an associate professor and principal lecturer in intelligence at the Norwegian Defense Academy.

Røseth points out that even though they are old, the Leopard 1 tanks are still useful in war. They provide protection and firepower, despite not having as good stability and ability to fire at speed as more modern versions.

– But even older material is used on the Russian side.

Røseth says that a prerequisite for sending such material to Ukraine will be that they must be refurbished and made combat-ready first.

– It is clear that it leaves a bad taste in the mouth if they have to buy them back from the same player they sold them to, but at a higher price.