It's not just about armor. Why Leopard 2 will be better than any Russian tank

This did not happen, but the Ukrainian military will still be sent to master German cars, which can mean that the tanks will still be. Focus has collected everything that is known about one of the most massive tanks in Europe-Leopard 2. Leopard 2-is the development of a German concern Krauss-Maffei Wegmann. In fact, it is a continuation of Leopard 1 ideas and the implementation of the US and Germany in the 1960s. The countries planned to create a single main MBT-70 combat tank.

Despite the fact that the countries were divided, Germany used the ideas of working together. The car was designed to meet 4 principles: according to the Italian Armed Forces, as of 2020, 47% of all tanks in Europe were Leopard of different modifications. Since 1979, 3200 tanks have been manufactured. Since 1979, Leopard 2 has passed several stages of modernization: they all have their own peculiarities. For example, 2A1 is a refinement of a tank and rescue of its "children's problems".

Thermal imaging sight was finalized. The following models up to 2A4 have been improved in fire control, radio and other systems. It is likely that Ukraine will receive a version of 2A4 from Poland and other countries. Leopard 2A4 was equipped with an automatic fire extinguishing system. The tower reservation was also improved, steps to increase the survival of the crew. The mass of the tank began to be 55 tons. The media wrote that Germany could hand over Leopard 2A5 tanks to Ukraine.

This version differs from 2A4 even greater security, new technologies and an improved braking system. With the receipt of "leopards" Ukraine will be able to modernize them in the future or even make the Ukrainian version, as Poland from Leopard 2 PL, Sweden with Leopard 2 S or Denmark with Leopard 2A5 DK did. If you go by German modernization packages, then 2A4 can be brought to version 2A6, where they already install a longer gun.

According to Taras Chmut, the director of the Foundation "Return the Living" in Podcast, dedicated to the tank, one of the main features is the constant refinement of ammunition. Even with the 2A4 version, ammunition can be more effective against Russian tanks. There are little types of shells developing little in the Soviet/Russian school. German tanks participated in several military conflicts during production: during the war in Kosovo, Germany transferred 28 Leopard 28 tanks to KFOR.

In the course of this conflict, tanks were used mainly for patrolling, protecting important objects and intimidating the conflicting parties. Then 2A5 in 2000 was replaced by 2A4. The tanks were in Kosovo and Northern Macedonia. From 1999 to 2004, no "leopard" was lost. However, the parties did not have heavy weapons to destroy such machines. The war in Afghanistan became the first serious test for heavy German tanks.

In the Leopard 2, Canada and Denmark in 2007 were sent as part of the International Coalition. The tanks were also planned to be used to patrol and protect bases. In a few years, several tanks were lost, mainly because of the blast on the mines. Basically, crews were minor injuries. On July 25, 2008, the only time occurred when a LOOPARD 2A5DK crew from Denmark was injured on a homemade explosive device. The driver was killed because the tank did not have additional protection against mini blades.

Other crew members were injured. "Leopards" were effectively shown during the fights in Afghanistan. At the end of 2008, the Red Dagger operation took place in Afghanistan in Hilmend province. The tanks were used to maintain infantry. The operation was successful and the command subsequently stated that Leopard 2 played a crucial role during the battle. The most unfortunate experience of using Leopard 2 tanks was the war in Syria. Turkey had several dozen tanks in 2A4 modification.

In December 2016, there were evidence that the tanks had destroyed IDIL fighters. The Turkish army lost 10 tanks: 5 destroyed anti -tank missiles, two from mines, one from artillery or mortar shelling, the other two of the unknown public reasons. As noted in the National Interest magazine, this was facilitated by the wrong use of tanks. The Turks used Leopard 2 in the rear as a means of fire support. Open firing positions tanks remained without infantry nearby.