Back in October, I reported:
Army might buy surplus tanks from Germans, Swiss
Updated Tue. Oct. 31 2006 11:27 PM ET
David Akin, CTV News
OTTAWA — Canadian army officers are negotiating the purchase of as many as 100 surplus tanks from the German and Swiss armies, CTV News has learned.
The deal may yet fall through but, even if it does, the fact that army officers are contemplating a purchase that could more than double the number of tanks in the Canadian Forces represents a significant strategic shift, military analysts say . . . [Read the rest]
The next day, the Department of National Defence said we had it all wrong:
Military nixes plan to buy German, Swiss tanks
Updated Wed. Nov. 1 2006 11:36 PM ET
Canadian Press
OTTAWA — The Canadian military recently considered but ultimately rejected buying slightly used tanks from the German and Swiss armies, a spokesman said Wednesday.
A team of staff officers, who monitor the military surplus-equipment market, did talk to both European countries last June about purchasing little-used A-4 and A-5 versions of the Leopard-2 tank.
“They were checking prices that were out there, but that staff check did not go any further,” said Lieut. Adam Thomson . . . [Read the rest]
Well, maybe we didn’t have it all wrong. The German newsmagazine Der Spiegel will be reporting tomorrow that:
Canada to buy German tanks for Afghanistan duty
(AFP)10 February 2007
BERLIN – Berlin Saturday confirmed reports that Canada is to buy German Leopard tanks to equip its forces serving with the NATO multinational force in Afghanistan….[Read the rest]
And this morning, the Ottawa Citizen’s David Pugliese follows up ::
Military eyes lease deal with Germany for new tanks
20 state-of-the-art vehicles could be in field by spring
David Pugliese, The Ottawa Citizen
Published: Sunday, February 11, 2007As it prepares to deal with another spring offensive by insurgents in Afghanistan, Canada is trying to lease state-of-the-art Leopard tanks from Germany.
Defence sources told the Citizen yesterday that Canada wants to lease 20 Leopard A6M tanks from the German army…[Read the rest]
I wonder if the initial 20 for the spring is related to the story on Leopard cooling systems?