Il governo ceco approva un accordo da 1,6 miliardi di dollari per acquistare serbatoi leopardati 2A8 dalla Germania | Notizie AP

PRAGUE (AP) — The Czech government approved on Wednesday a plan by the defense ministry to acquire 44 Leopard 2A8 battle tanks from Germany in a a deal that’s part of a major modernization of the country’s military amid [Russia’s war against Ukraine](https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine).

Defense Minister Jana Černochová said the Czechs will pay more than 34 billion koruna, or crowns ($1.6 billion) for the tanks that will be delivered between 2028–31.

The Czechs have an option to buy more tanks at a later date.

Last year, the Czech government agreed to procure up to 77 Leopard tanks in a cooperation deal with several other countries led by Germany.

The Leopard 2A8 is the latest, most modern version of the tank.

Previously, the Czech government had approved a plan to acquire [24 U.S. F-35 fighter jets ](https://apnews.com/article/czech-us-f-35-fighter-jets-ded1731e2fa272178ca8b67ba5cba524)and [246 CV90 armored combat vehicles](https://apnews.com/article/czech-combat-vehicles-cv90-bae-sweden-86c2b413caf5f5a71419d56afaa0816c) from Sweden, among other major military contracts.

Finally

Today’s tanks are highly ineffective, a couple drones can knock them out, there is a better use for this kind of money in military spending