Toward the end of May, Switzerland moved forward with the sale of 71 Leopard 1A5 tanks to Germany on the condition that they would not be transferred to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The decision seeks to maintain Switzerland’s long-standing position of neutrality, although it represents a shift from previous years’ stricter stance, which had completely opposed such a transaction. The move has already been approved by the Swiss Federal Council—the country’s seven-member executive body—which argued that the sale, under these conditions, does not violate Switzerland’s policy of not supplying weapons to countries involved in armed conflicts.
The 71 tanks in question are currently managed by Swiss defense contractor Ruag MRO, which has them stored in Italy. It’s worth noting that the Swiss company owns a total of 96 Leopard 1A5 tanks, acquired in 2016 from Italy’s Ministry of Defense. Italy now fields the C1 Ariete as its main battle tank, a capability complemented by the Centauro tank destroyers.
It’s important to recall that previous attempts to sell these tanks took place in 2023, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, when Western allies were exploring different proposals to provide armored vehicles to Kyiv as part of pledged military assistance. Germany, Denmark, and the Netherlands were key actors in efforts aimed at transferring Leopard 1 tanks to increase the number of armored vehicles available to Ukrainian crews, who had begun receiving modern Leopard 2 variants.
In that context, Ruag MRO—backed by German support—sought to seize the opportunity to export its 96 tanks formerly operated by the Italian Army, and thus requested authorization from the Swiss government’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO). The request was officially rejected in mid-2023, with the Federal Council stating that the move would be incompatible with Switzerland’s long-standing tradition of neutrality and, therefore, with its strict military export laws. However, this time, since the tanks are destined for Germany and there is an explicit prohibition against sending them to Ukraine, no export license is required for the transaction.
Finally, it’s worth noting that after the sale was approved, speculation arose regarding the possibility that the tanks might still be indirectly sent to Ukraine—as spare parts to support existing stocks, or after substantial modifications, such as converting the chassis into Gepard anti-aircraft systems. However, the Swiss government preemptively addressed such concerns and explicitly prohibited these scenarios. As officially stated: “According to the contractual guarantees of the parties that neither the tanks nor their components or accessories will be transferred to Ukraine, the planned sale does not violate the arms embargo established under the Ordinance on Measures in Connection with the Situation in Ukraine.”
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