Belgium's retired tanks back in spotlight for supply to Ukraine

By Omer Tugrul Cam

TOURNAI, Belgium (AA) - German-made Leopard 1 tanks, which were removed from the Belgian army's inventory years ago and sold to a defense industry firm, is back on the government's agenda.

Officials are mulling plans to buy back the tanks from the company at a "reasonable price" to send to Ukraine.

About a decade ago, the Belgian army decided not to use tracked heavy tanks anymore, retiring the Leopard 1 models as they were "not operational," after which they were transferred to the Belgian defense industry company known now as OIP Land Systems.

Western nations stepped up their aid to Ukraine when the war with Russia broke out on Feb. 24, 2022, with many recently pledging to send Kyiv dozens of main battle tanks.

The Belgian government plans to do the same but first needs to purchase back the Leopard 1 tanks that are now the property of OIP Land Systems.

Belgian Defense Minister Ludivine Dedonder told broadcaster Bel-RTL that OIP Land Systems had bought the tanks a few years ago for around €10,000-15,000 (about $10,900-16,400) each and now wants to sell them at "exorbitant" profits.

Dedonder said there was "nothing to prevent us from taking them back," but added that they were no longer in working order.

The company is no position to try to sell them at "unreasonable prices," he added.

Challenging this account, the CEO of OIP Land Systems Freddy Versluys told Anadolu that he was wrongfully portrayed as a "greedy arms dealer."

Speaking at a hangar in the western Tournai area, Versluys confirmed that his company was currently in talks with the government, but refrained from providing further details.

He said maintaining the military hangars costed €2.5 million per year and added that further money was needed to modernize the tanks.

All these came at "high costs," he continued.

Noting that about 400 military vehicles, some of which were tracked heavy tanks, had been waiting for years in storage, the CEO said the company could re-operate half of these to be "used in combat in Ukraine."

Versluys also underlined the need for export permits and international cooperation to quickly prepare the tanks for shipment as his company lacked that level of industrial capacity.