[MarkSheppard]

https://dsm.forecastinternational.co...faces-hurdles/

More than 12 years after disbanding its last two tank battalions and mothballing and selling off the entire Royal Netherlands Army fleet of upgraded Leopard 2A6 tanks, Dutch defense officials are now toying with the idea of recreating a tank battalion.

Joint German-Dutch cooperation provides a starting point for the Netherlands’ goal of reviving a tank battalion.

Since 2015, the Dutch have leased 18 Leopard 2A6 tanks from Germany to help form one of five companies within the larger German-Dutch 414 Tank Battalion.

Now, however, Dutch officials want more tanks – ones acquired outright – to recreate a unique Royal Netherlands Army tank battalion.

While overall funding has decidedly increased – the 2024 defense budget will rise by nearly 43 percent nominally year-on-year to reach €21.4 billion ($23 billion), or 1.95 percent of GDP – ongoing military procurement priorities – ranging from armed drones to rocket artillery systems to additional F-35s – take precedence.

Therefore, tank acquisition plans – such as one proffered by Germany last summer for a joint purchasing initiative involving the Leopard 2A8 main battle tank – remain unfunded and reliant upon the next Dutch government.