BERLIN: German arms manufacturer Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) is pushing for the export of over 70 Leopard tanks to the Sultanate of Oman, Der Spiegel has reported. Oman has invited KMW and a Turkish competitor to tender for a contract, which could have an order worth more than $2.14bn, analysts disclosed to the news outlet.
The Federal Security Council, which monitors the export of military goods from Germany, has already given KMW a temporary licence for the export of a single Leopard tank to Oman for the purpose of testing.
Recently Germany also approved the export of grenade launchers, assault rifles and sub-machine guns worth over $3.23m to Oman, which is viewed as a relatively stable country in the Middle East.
The news comes against the backdrop of increased scrutiny over Germany’s arms exports due to the increasing sums involved and the volumes of arms heading to countries outside the European Union and NATO.
Last year, Minister of Economy Sigmar Gabriel pledged to be much more cautious in licensing arms exports, but in the first half of this year, the government approved significantly more arms exports.
