Chile has decided to buy 118 German Leopard II tanks, which would be delivered in the coming months, to replace its existing 131 Leopard I tanks, the Defense Ministry said in a statement Friday.

The statement said that the deal was signed on Feb. 10 this year, but Chile had kept it under wraps until it had completed the necessary procedures at the request of the German government.

Chile's army has around 290 Leopard tanks, including 219 bought from Holland in 1998 and 1999, and another 70 from Germany.

According to the army, its Leopard I tanks were obsolete and it was cheaper to buy the new armory from Germany than to repair the old ones.

However, Chilean analysts have said that the Leopard I tanks were poorly maintained due to the lack of skilled technicians in Chile, and that it made little sense to replace tanks that had been barely eight years in service.

Source: Xinhua