Afstan and tanks: Quel scandale!/Lots on Leopard 2s

The Army needs replacement tanks in Afstan and that will cost money. The horror! The Ottawa Citizen reports--on the front page of course:

Canada to ship 20 tanks to Afghanistan as pullout looms

Canada will ship another 20 tanks to Afghanistan in the fall of 2010 to replace those that have been destroyed by insurgents or worn out through repeated use.

The Leopard 2 tanks will be shipped directly from Germany, where they are being refurbished, to Kandahar starting in September.

Although the tanks will only be on the ground for nine to 10 months before they have to be shipped back when the Canadian military mission ends in July 2011, Defence Department officials say the armoured vehicles are essential...

The cost of shipping the tanks from Germany to Afghanistan has not been determined, as that will depend on the type of transport used, according to DND spokeswoman Annie Dicaire.

The government spent $1 million to transport each tank when the first group of Leopards were originally sent from Canada to Kandahar in the fall of 2006 [more here]. At the time, it used commercial aircraft and U.S. military planes. Since then, Canada has received its own C-17 transport aircraft, which could be used to move the Leopards.

The Canadian Forces already had deployed 20 Leopard 2 tanks to Afghanistan and before that as many as 15 Leopard 1s [Taurus ARV uses the Leopard 1 chassis, see here and here]...

Canada is spending $1 billion on the tank project, which saw the purchase of 100 used Leopards from the Netherlands.

The tanks are being refurbished by the manufacturer, Krauss Maffei-Wegmann of Germany. That firm was awarded an $87-million contract in June for the repair and overhaul of some of the armoured vehicles.

More on that contract and lots of detail on the new Leopard 2s:

The Tank Replacement Project
...
The Tank Replacement Project will provide the Canadian Forces with a long-term, sustainable replacement for its 30-year old Leopard 1 main battle tank fleet and ensure that our troops have the equipment they need to get the job done. These tanks, once repaired, overhauled and upgraded, will provide the Canadian Forces with a sustainable heavy, direct-fire capability until 2035.

When completed, the Canadian Forces Leopard 2 fleet of 100 tanks will be made up of the following:
--40 tanks for use on operations (2 squadrons)
--42 tanks for use in training in Canada (2 squadrons)
--8 Armoured Recovery Vehicles (“tow-trucks” for tanks)
--10 additional tanks for use in force mobility

Leo 2 Update (via Spotlight on Military News and International Affairs):