Switzerland sells back 25 main battle tanks to Germany
Germany has given the Swiss government assurances that the tanks will remain either in Germany, with NATO or with its EU partners
Keystone / Alessandro Della Valle
The Swiss government has approved the export of 25 main battle tanks to their German manufacturer, Rheinmetall Landsysteme GmbH, it said on Wednesday.
“Germany has given assurances that the tanks will remain either in Germany, with NATO or with its EU partners,” the statement said.
They will be used to supplement their armaments. The tanks cannot be sent to Ukraine, not even indirectly.
In September, parliament agreed to decommission this equipment on condition that it be sold back to the company that manufactured it. Following this decision, armasuisse submitted an export application to the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO).
The resale of these tanks will not prevent the Swiss army from meeting its needs. The army currently has 134 Leopard 2 tanks in service and 96 in depot. The 25 tanks concerned will be taken from the latter.
Leopard 1 survey
These tanks have nothing to do with the Ruag machines stored in Italy, which have been in the news a lot recently. At the beginning of 2023, the German company Rheinmetall asked Ruag MRO if it could buy the 96 Leopard 1 tanks and then send them to Ukraine.
A contract was signed, subject to approval by the government. But the government refused the sale. It considered the operation incompatible with the law in force, particularly with regard to neutrality. An external investigation was opened at the request of the defence ministry and Ruag followed suit.
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles. You can find them here.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
External Content
Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Almost finished… We need to confirm your email address. To complete the subscription process, please click the link in the email we just sent you.
What do you think Switzerland’s Alain Berset can bring to the Council of Europe?
The former interior minister is to become the first Swiss Secretary General of the Council of Europe – which issues should his five-year term focus on?
How is your country dealing with the return of stolen artifacts?
Western nations like Switzerland often have to deal with the process of recovering or returning looted artifacts which have been illegally imported. What’s the situation like in your country?
Swiss helicopter rescue pioneers safe autopilot approach system
This content was published on
Swiss air rescue company Rega has received approval for a new kind of instrument flight system for approaching a hospital.
Algerian to face trial in Switzerland for ties to Islamic State
This content was published on
A 51-year-old Algerian man has been charged by the Swiss Federal Prosecutor's Office for involvement in the banned terrorist group.
Sylvain Saudan, ‘skier of the impossible’, dies aged 87
This content was published on
The Swiss father of extreme skiing pioneered descents from the Alps to the Himalayas – and became the sport’s first star.
Hayek family buys additional Swatch shares for nearly CHF11 million
This content was published on
Following the acquisition of registered shares worth over CHF20.6 million on Monday, the Hayek family made another purchase on Tuesday.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.