On October 29 Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) had handed over the first modernized Leopard 2A7V Main Battle Tank to German Armed Forces. The ceremony took place in Munich, at the headquarters of the KMW.
Krauss-Maffei Wegmann handed over the first modernized Leopard 2A7V tank to the German Land Forces (Heer). By 2023, the Bundeswehr will receive 104 upgraded vehicles / Photo: Heer
As part of the agreement signed in September 2017 with a total value of EUR760 million, Krauss-Maffei Wegmann will upgrade 104 older vehicles to the Leopard 2A7V standard by 2023. This includes 68 Leopard 2A4s, 16 Leopard 2A6s and 20 Leopard 2A7s. Thanks to the contract, KMW will maintain 1,500 jobs in Munich’s Allach district.
At the end of 2018 two Leopard 2A7V prototypes for trials were delivered to Bundeswehr. The letter V in Leopard 2A7V name is short for Verbessert (Improved), but the name is also reference to the first German tracked armored vehicle A7V from World War I.
In March 2019, the Bundestag’s budget committee decided to bring another 101 Leopard 2A6 and Leopard 2A6MA2 tanks to the 2A7V standard for over EUR300 million. In total, by 2026 there will be 205 modernized cars of this type in service.