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Neue Zürcher Zeitung:

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The Lord of the Leopard

Frank Haun was the head of tank manufacturer Krauss-Maffei Wegmann for a good 15 years. It was there that the Leopard 2A6 was developed, and it is about to undergo its baptism of fire in Ukraine. Haun is looking forward to the mission with mixed feelings. There will be casualties, he says.

Frank Haun could be triumphant. Wars are won on the ground, that's always been the case. I said: Tanks are not fossils, the day will come when you will need them again. But you wouldn't listen. Now you have the receipt.

He could say that, and one could not blame him. Almost every day, politicians, generals and journalists contact him and ask how quickly he can deliver. Haun is the head of tank manufacturer KNDS, an alliance of Germany's Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and France's Nexter. For years, he warned against dismantling too many tanks in Western armies. But he doesn't want to look back. He prefers to look ahead.

Germany's battle tanks face baptism of fire

Germany and other NATO countries want to send the Leopard tank to Ukraine. In a few weeks, one of the world's best battle tanks will experience its baptism of fire in high-intensity combat. Then we will see what it can really do. So far, the Leopard 2 has been used mainly in exercises in the North German Plain, for example. Canadians and Danes had it in Afghanistan for some time, but never in a scenario like Ukraine. "If we know how to teach the Ukrainians how to use the Leopard tank properly, then it will be able to make its impact," Haun says. "But yes, there will certainly be casualties."

When he joined Krauss-Maffei Wegmann in Munich in 2003 and became CEO three years later, he made further development of the Leopard 2 one of his most important projects. It was a time when Krauss-Maffei Wegmann was only producing one-offs because hardly anyone was ordering main battle tanks. It was no longer a matter of mass, as in the Cold War, but of equipping fewer tanks in such a way that they were clearly technically superior to an opponent. The result was the Leopard 2A6.

Nothing symbolizes war better than a tank like this. The steel colossus on tracks combines what is needed on the battlefield: Assertiveness from its 120-millimeter gun, mobility from its 1500-horsepower engine, and protection from its armor. Of the approximately 9500 "Main Battle Tanks" in Europe (Russia and Belarus excluded), 32 percent are made by Krauss-Maffei Wegmann. But for three decades, Western politicians and authoritative military leaders hardly wanted to hear about the advantages of a tank.

A few years ago, Haun reports, he talked with experts in Washington about how war was changing. One interlocutor explained that they no longer enter the combat zone with aircraft because they have no chance against modern air defense systems such as the Russian S400. Ground troops equipped with heavy weapons are still indispensable for winning a war.

Haun fell on deaf ears in Berlin

But in Berlin, his argument fell on deaf ears. Politicians and the military did not want his tanks, howitzers and anti-aircraft guns even when Russia invaded the Donbass in 2014 and Putin was already counting on the mass deployment of tanks and artillery. Everyone saw that the German army had nothing to counter this, Haun says. But politicians and many generals would have preferred to buy planes, helicopters and ships.

That is having an impact today. Of 320 battle tanks in the Bundeswehr, only about 130 are operational. Every single one that is now being handed over to Ukraine weakens Germany's defense capability. It's a state of affairs that Haun also blames himself for. "Obviously, in all those years in Berlin, I did not communicate in such a way that I was understood and something was changed. That is my failure," he says.

As the head of one of Germany's most important defense contractors, he has good access in Berlin. For example, when McKinsey consultant Katrin Suder was brought to the German Defense Ministry by Ursula von der Leyen in August 2014 to reform weapons procurement, he brought her a recommendation at the get-to-know-you meeting. "You must see the film 'Pentagon Wars,' you will be amazed," he had said to her.

"Pentagon Wars" describes the grotesque but true story of the procurement of the Bradley infantry fighting vehicle in the USA. For over 17 years, the American military made ever new, ever more absurd demands on the vehicle without the Pentagon intervening. In the end, the development had swallowed up 14 billion dollars. When they met again a few weeks later, Suder asked him, Haun recalls, if things were as bad in Germany. "We're better, of course, Madam Secretary of State," he had replied smugly.

The Puma's troubles scratch its reputation

The events in "Pentagon Wars" are not so far removed from Haun's own story. What was the Bradley disaster for the Americans almost happened to the Germans with the Puma. The Bundeswehr kept coming up with new ideas for the infantry fighting vehicle, while questionable standards for civilian vehicles burdened and delayed development. Haun knew that this tank could only be built on the edge of what was technically feasible.

But he went along with it because Krauss-Maffei Wegmann needed the order. The difficulties cost his company a lot of money and scratched its reputation. Nonetheless, he considers the Puma a "great tank," with its computer-aided concept a bridging technology with regard to the main battle tank of the future.

Haun's current company, KNDS, founded eight years ago as a joint venture between Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and Nexter, is to build this innovative, state-of-the-art main battle tank system. After a few years of dual German-French leadership, Haun took over sole management in 2020 and has since presided over a company that he believes is the only one in the EU still producing main battle tanks. The British, the French, the Italians - they all stopped production years ago, he says. "We are the only ones still producing tanks at the moment."

Relationship with Rheinmetall is poisoned

This statement is a jab at the West German competition. The Düsseldorf-based Rheinmetall Group unveiled its own main battle tank last year and also advertises itself as a tank manufacturer. But the hull, transmission and running gear are derived from the Leopard 2, which is why Haun believes it is not a tank system developed entirely by Rheinmetall.

But this is not the only reason why the climate between the two major companies is poisoned. In the past, there have been repeated announcements or rumors regarding a takeover of Krauss-Maffei Wegmann by Rheinmetall. While the two companies compete on the battle tank, they are partners on the Puma infantry fighting vehicle and other projects. Rheinmetall is also involved in the Franco-German main battle tank of the future. KNDS and the Düsseldorf-based group mutually claim leadership in the billion-dollar project.

German politicians, who for years have been advocating a merger of the two companies to form a "European champion," are now watching the dispute between the two companies with increasing annoyance. "We would like to have a strong German land systems company. But that is also being prevented by the two egos in the executive suites," says an experienced defense politician.

The Ukraine war is ensuring that order books are filling up at both companies. In January, Frank Haun turned 64. He has rarely been in as much demand as he is now. In the past, he had to justify himself for building weapons. Today, he has to defend himself against accusations that he produces the weapons too slowly.

"Without chips, I can't get a tank off the yard".

A few days ago, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius announced his intention to replace the 14 Leopard 2A6s for Ukraine with new tanks as soon as possible. That will be difficult. Krauss-Maffei Wegmann is currently producing 44 Leopard 2A7s for Hungary. Last week, an order for 54 tanks came in from Norway. Other countries are likely to follow soon. "In the next year or two, we expect orders for several hundred new or combat-grade Leopard 2s," Haun says.

Many NATO countries that are handing over the Leopard 2 or other models to Ukraine want to restock their fleets as quickly as possible. This will not fail because of his company's capacities, says Haun. The conversation with him takes place at Krauss-Maffei Wegmann's headquarters in Munich. Behind the building stretches the factory grounds with their halls, roads and parking areas where tanks or other vehicles are parked. When Haun steps up to the window of the meeting room, he looks out over the production halls. "Down there," he says, gesturing vaguely out with his hand, "is the Leopard line. We can ramp it up in no time. Capacity is not the problem."

Something else is difficult, he said, and he recently explained this to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz when he asked him about bottlenecks in production. In the case of a Leopard tank, Haun said, the bottlenecks are mainly in the so-called long-running parts, such as the gun barrel. They come from suppliers, and it is difficult to shorten their production. But he is even more concerned about the availability of microchips. The Leopard 2 needs them primarily for navigation and optics, he said. "Without chips, I can't get a tank off the yard anymore."

This looming bottleneck is worrying not only Haun, but the entire German economy. An attack by China on Taiwan, the chip workbench of the Western world, could further exacerbate the situation. Haun has been a member of the advisory board of the Munich Security Conference for many years. There he regularly meets security policy experts. Many of them, he says, are of the opinion that it is no longer a question of whether a Chinese invasion will take place, but only of when. If an attack were to occur, he says, Germany would be almost solely dependent on the U.S. as a chip supplier.

"Battle-tested" as a selling point for a tank

In mid-February, when the Security Conference is held again in Munich, the advisory board will also meet for the next time. Last year, Haun said, he had the impression that the majority of members didn't want to know about the impending Russian invasion of Ukraine. "There were people who thought Putin was just letting his 150,000 troops practice on the Russian-Ukrainian border," he says.

A year later, the Leopard 2 is facing its first major wartime deployment. "Combat proven," this seal is an important selling point for any weapons manufacturer. But that's not how Haun puts it. He says, "From the use of our weapons, we can draw valuable conclusions about their effectiveness in combat, so we can then make them even better."

And what will he think when the Russians cheer the first Leopard 2 destroyed? "Success and failure are part of war," he says.
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