Twice as deadly: Saudi Arabia aims at 10 bln euro tank deal with Germany

Saudi Arabia wants to buy between 600 and 800 Leopard II main battle tanks from Germany, at least twice more than what was previously reported, a German newspaper says. The future deal is estimated to worth around 10 billion euros.

A German-Saudi contract for purchase of some 300 brand new modern tanks was on the table since at least last year. Hover the Gulf monarchy wants more hardware, Bild newspaper reports.

There is still resistance in the German federal government to selling military hardware to Saudis. Foreign Ministry and Defense Ministry both oppose it due to security and human rights considerations.

The Economy Ministry advocates the deal, which would give a boost to domestic defense producers Krauss-Maffei Wegman and Rheinmetall, especially as the demand for armor from the German army shrinks with its ongoing restructuring.