Despite the rise of drones and long-range missiles, one piece of military hardware still dominates ground combat: the tank.

Lithuania has appropriated roughly €700 million for 44 advanced Leopard 2A8 tanks—but rather than buying them from Germany outright, it has arranged to build them in its own factories.

An employee works on a Leopard 2 main battle tank at the KNDS Unterstadt plant in Kassel. The German military, the Bundeswehr, is set to receive its first new-generation main battle tank, with defence ...

European defense company KNDS has formally unveiled its new Leopard 2A8 main battle tank, which will be deployed with German forces in Lithuania as the continent steps up its presence on NATO’s ...

German Bundeswehr soldiers inspect a Leopard 2A8 main battle tank at the roll-out of the first Leopard 2A8 NOR for the Norwegian Army at a ceremony at the KNDS factory on Nov. 19, 2025 in Munich, ...

Lithuania is preparing to build several dozen Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks at an upcoming facility in Kaunas. Germany and Baltic NATO member Lithuania have already announced cooperation in building ...

A Leopard 2 A8 main battle tank is pictured during the International Defence and Security Technologies Fair (IDET) in Brno, Czech Republic, on May 28, 2025. (Milan Jaros/Bloomberg via Getty Images) ...