Posted on 07/02/2011 12:48:03 PM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
Edited on 07/02/2011 1:21:40 PM PDT by Admin Moderator. [history]
Germany has allowed the sale of 200 Leopard tanks to Saudi Arabia after decades of blocking heavy weapons sales to the kingdom, the Der Spiegel said Saturday.
The federal security council approved the sale last week, the weekly news magazine said without citing sources.
(Excerpt) Read more at expatica.com ...
Boeing's union pukes are going to love this.
A bit of detail/specs on the 2A7 model:
http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htarm/articles/20100625.aspx
More weapons for Israel to one day face. Thanks Germany...
Does anybody know if the Saudis actually pay the United States for defending their oil? If they do not pay us then why don’t we demand something for our efforts? If the Saudis started paying us, that would help balance off the trade deficit and they would have billions of dollars less to spread Wahabbism throughout the world.
Do they come with book-on-disk version of Mein Kampf? Its a popular title amongst adherent to the religion of “peace”
We have sold the M1 to the Saudis in the past. I never worried too much, because all their eggs were in our basket. Without a continuous stream of ammunition and parts, these tanks don’t go far (I’m an ex M1 tanker). This ‘diversification’ does cause concern, as the US loses some control. It is also a very sobering example of the potential superiority of the Leopard over the M1. It usually wins manueverabilty tests, rapid fire tests, etc. Still - not really battle tested.
Thanks sukhoi-30mki.
Saudi does not have the personnel to man what they have.
Half of the Saudi bought M1A1s are de facto US pre-positioning sets for a division. Paid for by Saudi but, maintenance supervised by MAAG Riyadh.
These are replacement for French AMX-30s. The deal for Le Clerks was canx. Saudi has always bought from 2-3 sources.
Do you suppose the Saudis said they wouldn’t buy any more Mercedes products unless they got the Leapords ??
(Back when I was working in the KSA almost every medium and heavy truck or luxury car was Mercedes.) >PS
It’s time to pull our troops out.
Let them call Germany the next time they feel threatened by Iran.
I guess the Saudis got wise the M-1.
By many accounts the Leapord is a much better tank than the M-1. Its got a better gun system, probably equally as good armour is lighter and goes a hell of a lot further on a gallon of fuel. >PS
Actually, “panzer” means armor. The full German name for a tank is “panzerkampfwagen”. That means armored fight vehicle.
Don’t know if “pay” is exactly the correct way to express what I think is happening. I suspect the USA has a lot of pre-positioned assets in country. I also suspect there’s some disguized installations deep in the “empty quarter” as well.
Back when I was there, ( the mid-Seventies ) there was a large USACOE presence and a lot of MATs traffic as well as a lot of military contractors around all the time.
Two of the holiest sites of all Islam are inside their borders and the Saudis take their “Defender of the Faith” title seriously, I know. They also have to let their enemies into their nation every year on Hadj.
Small wonder they’re always angling for secret alliances with the U.S.d and some other Western nations. >PS
“Panzer just means “tank”, and their word for panther is Leopard...”
WRONG.
The German word for panther is....ready for this?
Panther.
OK .... That’s what I get for using Babelfish ;)
Yeah, if it comes to that they'll arrive a month or two after all those fighter jets from XXX have flattened the place. Thanks XXX....
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