The latest events in the field of international security have led to a demand for an increase in the development of tools and weapons used in defence. After 2014, when Russia started the Crimean War, both NATO and the EU reviewed the need to expand their heavy armament component. In this sense, a particular focus has been directed to the category of Main Battle Tanks (MBTs). However, the growing demand for MBTs goes hand in hand with relentless technological development. Currently, to be truly effective, a squadron of tanks must meet certain characteristics and standards on active protection systems, vetronics and optronics, and automation (Marrone et al, 1, 2020). However, these standards are currently impossible to meet on a European level. Currently, the European armies possess a squadron of MBTs inadequate to deal with present conflicts. Moreover, the availability of MBTs is minimal and insufficient. This, in turn, makes the EU a fragile target from the perspective of heavy weapons (Hoffmann, 2010).
Unlike the EU, other global powers have understood the essentiality of MBTs and have already adapted their armies to the standards and needs required by modern conflicts. The US, Russia, and Israel are the leading nations in tanks technology, with the Russian squadron one of the most developed tank programs of this era (Gady, 2016). Japan and China, who have long-lasting experience in producing tanks (Brimelow, 2021), have also recently started rethinking their usage of tanks. Moreover, Turkey is also seeking new defence suppliers for tanks, currently turning to South Korea and Ukraine, which are among the major producers (Tavsan, 2021). All in all, most of the relevant international players are progressively battening down the hatches and implementing a functional program for the creation of squadrons of tanks which will allow them to obtain a prominent role in any future conflicts.
In this sense, the EU is still far behind. This inadequacy has a strong link with the disparity on the military level between the various member states (MS). Currently, most of the MBTs available in the EU belong to the French and German armies. Precisely by virtue of this so evident predominance of France and Germany in the military field, these two nations decided to create a unified programme to develop and produce a next-generation Main Ground Combat System (MGCS) in 2012. Several other MS, including Italy and Poland, have shown interest in the program and have repeatedly asked to join the MGCS cooperation. However, France and Germany reiterated the exclusively bilateral nature of the agreement until a prototype is developed. The programme aims to create a future land warfare system to replace the German Army’s Leopard 2s and the French Army’s Leclerc MBTs. The Leopard 2 and the Leclerc were designed and developed in the 1970s and 80s, but they have been significantly upgraded since (Oestergaard, 2021).
However, pending the modernisation of weapons promised by France and Germany, the EU MS have been called on by NATO to intervene in the framework of the enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) programme. The latest developments of this programme took place in European territories, mainly in the Baltic regions and Poland. Consequently, this has implied the need to develop a specific strategic plan to counter the ever-present Russian threat in those regions (NATO, 2021).
For these reasons, the Netherlands Armed Forces has deployed tanks abroad for the first time in 20 years. The Dutch Leopard 2A6 battle tanks have arrived in Lithuania and will be contributing to NATO’s above-mentioned programme (Joint-Forces.com, 2021). The Leopard 2 is an MBT developed for the West German Army by Krauss-Maffei in the 1970s. The tank first entered service in 1979 and succeeded the earlier Leopard 1 as the main battle tank of the German Army. This generation of tanks, including the 2A6, despite being increasingly viewed as obsolete, still is the best option the European countries are currently able to provide (Lye, 2020). In June 2010, KMW put its next-generation MBT on the market: the Leopard 2 A7+. The tank was successfully tested and approved by the German Army. This model of tanks was mainly purchased and settled in Saudi Arabia, which, bought 200 tanks in 2011 (Army Technology, 2021).
To reinforce the hard core of the NATO Battlegroup in Lithuania, the Dutch Leopard 2 A6 MBTs will soon be complemented by
- CV90 IFVs,
- BOXER wheeled protected transport vehicles,
- FENNEK reconnaissance vehicles, and
- BÜFFEL armoured recovery vehicles.
The Leopards and the other vehicles deployed are part of a Dutch combat team which, together with infanteers, engineers, and medics, have been provided by the 43 Mechanised Brigade based in Havelte (Joint-Forces.com, 2021).
The last time this kind of initiative was taken by the Netherlands was in the early 1980s. At that time, the Dutch Army procured 445 MBTs and sold them to NATO countries by 2011. Four years later, 18 MBTs were given to the Netherlands to equip a tank company. This company was incorporated into the German-Dutch Tank Battalion 414 in 2017 with four German and one Dutch company. After certification at the German Army Combat Training Centre (GÜZ), the transfer to Lithuania was authorised and initiated, leading to the current deployment to support the ePF programme (Heiming, 2020).
Written by Francesca Colotta
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