Belgian Leopards bought by Lebanon

[yourfriend]

Hello

Does anybody have any news concerning the Belgian Leopards 1 A5? i heard that they were sold to Lebanon. Did Lebanon actually receive them or yet?

Many thanks..

 

[tatra]

31.12.2007 13:38


Le Liban achète 71 blindés à la Belgique, dont 43 chars Leopard

Le Liban a finalisé l'achat de 71 blindés d'occasion - dont 43 chars lourds Leopard - à la Belgique, a-t-on appris lundi de source militaire.
Cette vente, d'un montant de 3,5 millions d'euros, a été bouclée à l'occasion d'une visite au Liban, dimanche, du chef de la Défense (CHOD), le général August Van Daele, qui a rencontré le commandant en chef de l'armée libanaise, le général Michel Sleimane - et probable futur chef de l'Etat si les partis politiques libanais parviennent à s'entendre. Elle concerne au total 43 Leopard (des chars d'assaut pesant une quarantaine de tonnes, armés d'un canon de 105 mm et datant des années 70), seize blindés chenillés de type AIFV (Armoured Infantry Fighting Vehicles) dotés d'un canon de 25 mm et douze transporteurs de troupe de type M-113, ainsi que des munitions, a précisé le porte-parole. Les livraisons sont prévues dans le courant de l'année 2008. (GFR)

http://news.fr.be.msn.com/politique/article.aspx?cp-documentid=7126112

Lebanon and Belgium finalized the transfer of 43 Leopard 1 tanks to the Lebanese Armed Forces in a deal worth 3.5 million euros, which also includes a number of ex-Belgian APCs

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopard_1#Lebanon

Lebanon army trying to rearm and modernize itself.
Published: Monday, 3 December, 2007

In September [of 2007], Lebanon ordered 40 Leopard-1 tanks and 32 YPR armored infantry fighting vehicles with 25mm guns and spare parts that were “offered by Belgium at a bargain price”
The money will come from what remains of the $100 million donated by Saudi Arabia in June to help the military crush an al-Qaida-affiliated terrorist group called Fatah Al-Islam in northern Lebanon.
The official said Beirut is now waiting for Brussels to clear its own crisis — Flemish and Francophone parties failed to agree on a coalition government following general elections earlier this year — and officially endorse the transfer. Belgium will replace the Army-surplus vehicles with variants of the Mowag Piranha-III.

http://yalibnan.com/site/archives/2007/12/lebanon_army_tr.php
[Lebanon paid the symbolic amount of 10 million dollars]

The last confirmed deal is a Belgian promise to sell 43 Leopard 1 tanks and 16 AIFV armored infantry fighting vehicles and 12 M-113 APC's to Beirut is expected to become reality soon, now that a government needed to endorse the deal has formed in Brussels.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_of_Lebanon

http://newsgroups.derkeiler.com/Archive/Soc/soc.culture.lebanon/2007-01/msg00505.html

 

[yourfriend]

thank you for your reply. I actually know all these. But my question is after the deal was signed, were the tanks and AIFVs shipped or yet to be shipped?

 

[eckherl]

thank you for your reply. I actually know all these. But my question is after the deal was signed, were the tanks and AIFVs shipped or yet to be shipped?

The tanks have not been shipped yet, has Germany even given the Belgians permission to sell them to Lebanon. @Kato or Waylander.

 

[kato]

Haven't heard of anything, but such things are regularly decided behind closed doors.

 

[yourfriend]

Well Germany is supplying the army with weapons already, mostly related to the navy though. The deal has been under discussions since 2006, so most likely the Germans were put in image of that especially that many German military delegations visited Lebanon between 2006 and this year. Signing the deal surely mean no one vetoed it, including the US.

Thank eckherl for confirming that the Tanks are still in Belgium and not yet shipped. Does any Belgian site speak about this deal?

 

[kato]

The Lebanese Navy has been outfitted with three German boats: Two 60-ft inshore/river patrol boats (from state police) and one 90-ft boat (from the navy, unarmed security boat for maneuver areas).
Could be argued that these are not "military equipment" technically. Also, Germany differentiates between equipment and their possible uses. A patrol boat can't be used in an internal conflict.

 

[yourfriend]

This deal made it through the initial American refusal. I'm sure that was discussed with the Germans. When they signed the deal, they said Lebanon will start receiving them in the next coming months.

 

[playtime]

so potentially.. we may get to see a Leo Vs Merk discussion settled once and for all.

 

[kato]

Not really. We're talking about Leo 1A5 here, not Leo 2.

 

[Feanor]

so potentially.. we may get to see a Leo Vs Merk discussion settled once and for all.

Employment issues, lack of support assets on one side, and abundance on the other, small numbers involved, training issues, etc. will all prevent it from giving us any meaningful direct comparison.

 

[Waylander]

Hmmm, even with all the mentioned things being equal I wouldn't put my money onto a Leopard 1...

 

[yourfriend]

that's what Lebanon can afford...