KNDS wins $667.2 million Canadian Leopard 2 service deal
A Canadian Leopard 2 tank taking part in a tank gunnery competition in Latvia earlier this year. (Photo: Corporal Bryan Bodo, Canadian Armed Forces Imagery Technician)
KNDS Deutschland has set up its own Canadian entity to facilitate the deal and will also build a dedicated maintenance and repair centre.
KNDS Deutschland has been commissioned to support Canada’s Leopard 2 main battle tanks (MBTs) including the Armoured Recovery Vehicle and Armoured Engineering Vehicle variants.
The €600 million (US$667.2 million) contract for the long-term sustainment support of the tanks was awarded by the Public Services and Procurement Canada on behalf of the Department of National Defence. It will lead to a maintenance and repair centre being built in Canada and will include programme management, maintenance, technical services, supply support and engineering support as required.
Markus Schmidt, senior vice-president – customer support at KNDS Deutschland, remarked: “For KNDS, the contract for the long-term support of the systems is an honour and we are aware of our responsibility to ensure the operational capability of 74 Leopard 2 battle tanks and 29 family vehicles.”.
Ottawa-based KNDS Canada has been founded by its German parent company for the project, which will begin this month and run until March 2031, and will take responsibility for its implementation. The deal included an option for a further five years.
According to Shephard Defence Insight, the 120mm-armed Leopard 2 MBT was developed in the 1970s as a replacement for the German Army’s 105mm Leopard 1s and remains the most widely used MBT by NATO members.
Canada announced it to would send four Leopard 2s to Ukraine, after Germany gave permission in late January 2023, alongside Poland who finalised a donation of 14 Leopard 2A4s to help the country defend itself against Russian aggression.
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