European Armies Accelerate Armor Modernization as US Scales Back Legacy Programs
By Tamir Eshel -May 13, 2025738
KNDS displayed at DEFEA 2025 the VBCI AFV dubbed "Philoctetes", modified to fit Greece's requirement for protected mobility and firepower for its infantry.
While the United States Army continues to slow down and discontinue acquisitions of armored vehicles such as the Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle (AMPV) and Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV), European nations are aggressively moving forward with procurement and modernization programs for hundreds of armored fighting vehicles. This shift highlights diverging priorities in military spending and force structure development between the US and its European allies.
European Rely on Domestic Suppliers
The contrast between US and European acquisition strategies has become increasingly apparent. Even as Ukraine reportedly stands ready to commit to purchasing AMPV vehicles from BAE Systems to help sustain production lines that the US military is scaling back, multiple European nations are simultaneously launching or accelerating their own armor modernization initiatives.
These programs have evolved into comprehensive modernization plans spanning hundreds of combat vehicles that often include significant domestic industrial participation, technology transfer arrangements, and long-term sustainment strategies. Among these are various variants of the ASCOD II and Piranha 5 from GDELS, thousands of KF41 Lynx from Rheinmetall, various types of BAE System’s CV90s, and Polish Borsuk to be produced by the local company HSW, as well as CAVS 6×6 APCs, acquired under a joint procurement of four European countries. Upgrading and manufacturing of Main Battle Tanks include the latest Leopard 2A8 and new Rheinmetall KF-51 Panther tanks and future MGCS, currently on the drawing boards in Germany and France. US-made combat vehicles are almost absent from this race, as European countries tend to rely on local suppliers for their combat systems. Three countries that are about to invest billions of Euros in new AFV programs are Greece, Netherlands, and Romania.
https://defense-update.com/20250513_european-new-armor-programs.html#google_vignette
