Mr Papperger, how much do you earn on a Leopard 2 main battle tank? Our goal is a profit margin of at least 10 percent before taxes.

I always thought: You earn much, much more with guns. Isn’t war such a good deal? I know a high-tech company like ours could ask for more, but we want satisfied customers and long-term good relationships with the countries we sell arms to. We work for national and European security – and that includes fair prices.

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