Germany is set to order 18 Leopard 2 main battle tanks to replace units sent to Ukraine with an option for 105 more at a total cost of around 2.9 billion euros ($3.19 billion), Bloomberg News reported on Friday.

Bloomberg reported that a Defence Ministry spokesperson confirmed that the government is in advanced talks to buy the 18 Leopard tanks.

($1 = 0.9084 euros) (Reporting by Kanjyik Ghosh in Bengaluru; editing by Jason Neely)