The middle Carpathian

One of the stars of the Slovak defense exhibition IDEB 2026 was this guy here: CFL-120 Karpat is a medium tank that meets the needs of Slovakia. Not too heavy, and especially not too expensive – the Leopard 2A8, which was the initial choice, is overwhelming for the country. The CFL-120 Karpat weighs half as much as a Leo, and we don't even want to know the budget implications.

This unit is offered by the Czechoslovak Group (CSG), but it has various components: the chassis is from the Turkish FNSS Savunma Sistemleri A.Ş., and the mounted Hitfact MkII turret is Italian, coming from LEONARDO.

We already know the turret; it was showcased at EUROSATORY 2024 on a LYNX KF41, which is being procured as an infantry fighting vehicle for the Italians. With the Hitfact MkII, a light support tank is envisioned for the Italian army.

This one doesn’t have to have 120mm; it can also be downgraded to 105mm. An interesting question is whether it will compete against the CV90120, which would be the same platform as the Slovak infantry fighting vehicle CV90MkIV.

What’s exciting about this tank is, of course, the collaboration of different manufacturers and the fact that a Turkish chassis is advancing into Central Europe. We are curious to see how Slovakia will decide. Medium to light battle tanks are making a comeback as we look at the growing offerings.