While many countries are working to deliver Leopard tanks to Ukraine, the Czech Republic is planning to acquire new Leopard 2A7+ tanks. The Czech Armed Forces is testing the first of 14 used 2A4s to be procured from Germany.

The Czech Republic donated the Soviet-designed T-72 to Ukraine last year. Under the so-called “Ringtausch” program, Germany decided to supply Prague with a batch of Leopard 2A4s to enable the Czech Army to maintain its combat capability and replace outdated Soviet weapons with Western equipment.

The Czech Armed Forces says the Leopard 2A4 swap will make Prague ready for the reception of new Leopards, as suggested by Czech Defense Minister Jana Černochová. The politician said last May that the country could buy up to 50 tanks in the 2A7+ version from Germany. “The 2A4 Leopards will prepare us for the most modern Leopard in the 2A7 version,” the Czech Armed Forces tweeted.

According to the plan, the remaining 13 Leopard 2A4s will be delivered to the Czech military base by the end of this year. According to the data of the Czech Ministry, these vehicles will be used by the 7th Mechanized Brigade.

Meanwhile, Canadian National Defense Minister Anita Anand tweeted on February 5, “The first Canadian Leopard 2 main battle tank we donated to Ukraine has arrived in Poland. Together with our allies, we will soon train the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the use of this equipment.” Besides Canada and Germany, other countries that have declared their willingness to supply used Leopard tanks to Ukraine include Denmark, Finland, Poland, Portugal, and Spain.