April 16, 2007:
Canada has made a deal to upgrade
its tank force. It will spend $575 million to lease twenty German Leopard 2A6
tanks for several years, for use in Afghanistan. It will also buy 100 used
Leopard 2 tanks from the Netherlands. This process will take five years, since
the purchase will include upgrading 40 of the Dutch tanks, which are A4 models,
to the A6 standard (which is most suitable for peacekeeping work). The A6 model
includes improved protection against mines, roadside bombs and RPGs. Twenty of
the Dutch tanks are engineer support versions, which are particularly useful in
peacekeeping missions. The Dutch tanks
have been well maintained, and should be good for another 10-20 years
service. Canada will most likely use
these tanks in peacekeeping operations where there are some energetic and
deadly bad guys around (like the Taliban in Afghanistan).