Austria to Cut in Half Armored Vehicle Fleet

VIENNA, Austria - Austria will halve its fleet of armored vehicles in a bid to save 12 million euros ($16 million) per year, defense minister Norbert Darabos said in an interview published Dec. 11.
"Autonomous defense of territory is no longer necessary because of changes in the security environment," Darabos told daily Krone Zeitung, referring to the end of the Cold War and the remote prospect of a tank invasion.

Under the plan, Austria will scrap or sell around 500 armored vehicles and related defense systems from 2011.
The Hungarian government has expressed an interest in purchasing some tanks, the newspaper reported.