Unknown country buys 50 decommissioned Leopard 1 tanks from Belgium for Ukraine

The first Leopard 1 tanks purchased from Belgium by an unknown country have been sent to Ukraine, reports Belgian publication Business AM.

50 of the Leopard 1 tanks were fully decommissioned several years ago and stored in a warehouse in the city of Tournai. Belgium was not planning to transfer the tanks to Ukraine because making them operational was too expensive.

Business AM writes that Belgium sold the tanks to a company called OIP Systems for 15,000 Euros (around $16,400) each. Belgium’s army didn’t have enough hangars for storing decommissioned equipment, so the tanks were sold at a rock bottom price, the publication explains.

A third, unknown country took advantage of the deal to buy the tanks. The first Leopards have already been sent to Ukraine through Germany and Italy, after being refurbished. Plans are in place to outfit them with new weapons systems.

Business AM notes that only Germany, Denmark, and the Netherlands have openly announced buying Leopard 1 tanks for Ukraine.