600+ New Leopards per Year

With the clickbait title about 600 annual Leopards out of the way, there has recently been an interview with Ralf Ketzel, the boss of KMW.

https://www.rnd.de/politik/panzerbauer-kmw-haelt-deutliche-ausweitung-der-produktion-fuer-machbar-2LUNYVENYLFECN2OU42EZBV6R4.html

Contrary to most other defence companies, KMW is neither government owned, nor publicly owned, it's privately owned and basically your friendly neighbourhood family business, except that they sell you tanks and don't just do FFL transfers for you while never picking up their fricking phone.
One of the advantages of being a privately owned business is that you don't actually always have to aim for the largest profits every business year. So when the production of Leopards was slowly reduced over 20 years from 300 freshly built ones every year by KMW to the current numbers of
>50 new Leopards2A7
>70-80 upgraded L2A7 from older versions
>50 tanks that require intensive maintenance/unfricking that can't be done on-site
KMW didn't actually reduce its capabilities or fire people, instead they expanded, built several new buildings and are currently hiring 50-100 new people every year.

>anon wtf does that mean?
According to Mr. Ketzel, due to their concentrated effort to keep capabilities alive and not reduce the relevant staff, together with the German MIC structure uniquely having a gigantic amount of small/medium sized firms delivering parts to larger firms, in 1-2 years KMW can ramp up to 500-600 new L2A7 tanks every year, all they need is the okay from the relevant governments with fitting order numbers.
Bonus:
KMW is not the only tank company in Germany, several companies, including Rheinmetall, have the capabilities of upgrading older Leopard versions to the A7 standard, so realistically any large expansion would go beyond KMWs capabilities. Hence why I wrote 600+

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  1. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    >mfw this whole process could have been started a year ago
    Better late than never I guess.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      JUST START ORDERING TANKS ALREADY AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        Ey yo KMW! I’ll have two number 9s, a number 9 large, a number 6...

        • 1 year ago
          Anonymous

          It's insane that that stupid fricking soundbite is still perfectly seared into my brain.

          • 1 year ago
            Anonymous

            Seared soundbite?

        • 1 year ago
          Anonymous

          All you had to do was follow the damn tank CJ.

          • 1 year ago
            Anonymous
      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        The Italian government just announced that it's looking to buy 250+ new 2A7s.

  2. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    >german company actually making the tanks staunchly refused to loose the ability to make new tanks and can scale production if it wants
    now that's extremely fricking based, finally some good fricking news from germany

  3. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    Imagine watching tanks getting blown the frick out by $500 hobby drones and coming to the conclusion that you need to build more $7 million dollar tanks

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      There's also Rheinmetall HEL that could accompany tanks, spotting and burning them out. The tank itself can use thermal imaging to spot and pop drones. Those hobby drones are only good for popping russian "modern" tanks which are basically 60s junk with some reactive armour.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      Rheinmetall presented its TAPS that solves that issue last year ago already.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      just don't be a russian tracked coffin and this won't be a problem

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      Are you moronic or something? Any first world nation would be able to come up with a counter to that in no time, if one doesn't already exist.

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        >Any first world nation would be able to come up with a counter to that in no time, if one doesn't already exist.
        It's called a Top Attack Protection System, the new Panther has it, but I assume Rheinmetall's gonna make it available for the Leopard as well.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      Where would the Russians get $500?

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      This kills the drone autist.

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        Is that a gigalaser?

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      Drone spam isn't a serious issue for 1st World militaries, anon.

  4. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    I live near a Rheinmetall factory storing Boxers, Marders, M109s and Leo 2s.
    For years barely any movement was visible. A Leo 2 driving through the city here, a Marder there.
    Now there is a great rotation of vehicles in their car park. Old powerpacks stand in their yard and they erected car ports to store even more vehicles on the site.
    I see Dachses now too.
    Ukranian soldiers in uniform are also sitting around in the city drinking coffee for half a year or so now.
    They are probably learning how to maintain stuff.

    I really wonder where those Bundeswehr M109s went

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      >Dachses
      So I asked myself, what the frick is a dachs armored vehicle?
      And now I think it wants me to play with it.

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        It obviously digs and bulldozes, also recovers other vehicles.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      Nothing to see here, move along sir. Poor Germany is poor and has no industry, we are totally demilitarized. We also totally don’t engage in accounting magic to move stuff off books and subsidize production lines to remain in place without technically paying subsidies.
      The hooks are totally taking over the entire European market.

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        >The hooks are totally taking over the entire European market.
        Mr. Krabs warned us about this.

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        >We also totally don’t engage in accounting magic to move stuff off books and subsidize production lines to remain in place without technically paying subsidies.
        We all knew EU was just a grift to line German pockets but glad to know you admit it as well.

        • 1 year ago
          Anonymous

          Not him but you have to be severely obsessed with certain ideas to begin to read that much of them into a post like that.

          It's not that simple. Business management can argue that it is maximizing long term profits over short term.

          The bigger problem is that stockholders can, and often will fricking fire the management that doesnt maximize short term horizon profits (Because investors are quite often, moronic)

          In this case it was literally a company foregoing profits over 2 decades to not just keep old capabilities around but expand them and build several new factory halls in preparation for shit hitting the fan, which is exceptional in many ways and wouldn't happen in a publicly traded company.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      Hans-Dieter Hägele from Baveria autonomous oblast here, this is truly embarrassing news for the imperialist German government!
      I for one support the Russian liberators.

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        >Hägele
        >bavaria

  5. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    >all they need is the okay from the relevant governments
    yeah...

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      In the last month they got 50-70 confirmed from Norway and this

      The Italian government just announced that it's looking to buy 250+ new 2A7s.

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        Germany will have to buy additional tanks too. We will see what the new EP14 will look like. There may also be a reform of the 25mln rule.

  6. 1 year ago
    T-I-G-E-R-S

    >One of the advantages of being a privately owned business is that you don't actually always have to aim for the largest profits every business year.
    Kek

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      That's actually kind of a big issue. As a publicly traded company you're literally legally obliged to seek the highest profits for your shareholders every year and if you don't they can sue you.

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        It's not that simple. Business management can argue that it is maximizing long term profits over short term.

        The bigger problem is that stockholders can, and often will fricking fire the management that doesnt maximize short term horizon profits (Because investors are quite often, moronic)

  7. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    Lol KMW and Rheinmetall are so shit
    They can't get these things working
    Europe should buy American, at least they get it done right.

  8. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    [...]

    Lol nice 15 round blowout panel on your Leopard bro
    Where do you store the rest again? Oh right, exposed in the hull, just like a Russian tank.
    M1? All rounds in blow out panel protected storage.
    Cope hans.

  9. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    >KMW is neither government owned, nor publicly owned, it's privately owned
    Didn't it merged with Nexter which is owned by the French government ?

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      It's a bit more complicated than that, Nexter is owned by the French government and KMW is still owned by the old family but KMW+NEXTER Defense Systems N.V. is a holding company that includes both with both companies officially as subsidiaries.
      Also KMW would be the senior partner if there'd be any kind of dominant relationship as its revenue is quite a lot higher and it's a lot more crucial to a lot more European projects.
      It was basically done to make export easier, avoid restrictions and get a closer partnership, but KMW can't tell Nexter what to do and vice versa.

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        >It was basically done to make export easier, avoid restrictions and get a closer partnership, but KMW can't tell Nexter what to do and vice versa.
        Also, I can't be sure about this but I'm fairly certain the idea of grabbing EU grants and support due to representing the 2 largest arms producing companies was part of the motivation as well. Gives KMW a competitive edge over Rheinmetall for example because France will support its ambitions over those of Rheinmetall.

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        >It was basically done to make export easier, avoid restrictions and get a closer partnership, but KMW can't tell Nexter what to do and vice versa.
        Also, I can't be sure about this but I'm fairly certain the idea of grabbing EU grants and support due to representing the 2 largest arms producing companies was part of the motivation as well. Gives KMW a competitive edge over Rheinmetall for example because France will support its ambitions over those of Rheinmetall.

        Mmmmh, if everything goes well with the new MBT and they finally find a way to make European project work (at least at the KNDS level) we might see a lot more of those. France might ask for a better IFV.

  10. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    Virtually no learning capability shown, still ordering tanks in 2023 instead of investing in drones.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      Drones aren't an issue for modern tanks and if they turn out to be they won't be by the next generation because top attack protection systems already solved that.

  11. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    IIRC, KMW was offering Chile the option to build new Leopard 2 in Chile instead of simply upgrading their Leopard 2A4 fleet so there would be a factory for the Leo 2 and it's parts in the Americas isolated from Euro conflicts. It would be awesome if that happened. If Argentina goes full moron and starts buying new Chinese gear I think it will happen. Brazil had the chance to get this factory too however it is very much looking like Brazil will be developing some weird combination of their domestic Osorio design and Japanese Type 10 tech.

  12. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    Why are Leopard 2A7s breaking down constantly? Why is German engineering so shit and unreliable that Polish engineering beats it?

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      6/10

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        2/10, samegay

        • 1 year ago
          Anonymous

          1/10 deflection

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        Check out the pathetic situation with leo delivery to Ukraine. None of them work.

  13. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    >500-600 new L2A7 tanks every year
    I call it bluff. The production never went above 300/year even when it was at its peak in the 80s.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      300/year with 18 months ramp up, double that within roughly 3 years. More than 300 is not going to happen though. Nobody is ordering 5000 new tanks.

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        >Nobody is ordering 5000 new tanks.
        We'll see about that shortly.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      Learn to read, Black person.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      >I call it bluff
      And why would they do that? They don't have rising stocks due to PR to worry about because they don't sell their stocks.

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        to stop countries buying Abrams or K2

        • 1 year ago
          Anonymous

          That makes no sense.
          These deals aren't just made on the spot and with a phone call, nations go into negotiations and ask when shit will arrive first. Empty words don't help there.

          • 1 year ago
            Anonymous

            be Poland - need 800 tanks - hear that it will be possible in 10 years - buy first batch of 200 used/refiurb K2s for 2billion usd...

            be Poland ask for 80 leo2a4 - hear that it will take 5 years because books are full with 2a7... buy 100 used abrams tanks for more than 1,2bn usd... and 200 new for 4,5 billion

            there seems to be some sort of idea that Germany does not have capacity for big orders - press releases like this are to combat that notion.

            • 1 year ago
              Anonymous

              >polish lies forced the press release
              It was an interview, not a press-release and if it would've been done for an international audience it would've been given to an English paper.
              I also don't think KMW has to care about that kinda stuff, people screeching on twitter isn't their concern, actual nations are and they don't believe that shit as we've seen from Norway and recently Italy.

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