#german leopard 2 tank

[xh1dos]

NATO exercises military trainings on Leopard 2, Challenger 2 and Leclerc tanks

[captain-price-unofficially]

Swedish Strv 122 in the winter snow

[i-identify-tanks-in-posts]

Tank Man, official Leo 2A8 renders dropped!

https://x.com/ryszardjonski/status/1801657378506510669

https://esut.de/2024/06/fachbeitraege/50591/kampfpanzer-leopard-2-faehigkeitsforderungen-und-systembestimmende-randbedingungen/

Fuck yeah, just look at it.

That's a fucking sci-fi tank right there. The Leo 2A8 is coming from the future to blow you a new asshole.

Fuck yeah. That's what I'm talking about.

[tanksandbeyond]

A Leopard 2 of the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force during exercise Trident Juncture moving from the city of Drevsjø towards Øversjødalen, Norway, November 4th, 2018.

[feuer-in-soho]

[capt-riverdry]

Leopard 2

Turret maintenance.

Look at the original turret shape and the modular armor.

[tezla7]

US Depleted Uranium and Ukraine

Bradley IFVs use depleted uranium shells.

Leopard 2 tanks and Abrams tanks use depleted uranium shells.

Russia has already stated if depleted uranium shells are sent to Ukraine, this will be a further level of escalation.

[head-post]

Bundeswehr General: almost half of Leopard 2s out of service

Nearly half of Germany’s 18 Leopard 2 tanks fallen into disrepair due to inept replacement of parts, Suddedeutsche Zeitung reports.

General Christian Freuding told Suddeutsche Zeitung that Ukraine is out of capabilities to repair the tanks in accordance with German operating and maintenance rules, which subsequently leads to increased wear and tear of parts and longer downtime.

Freuding also highlighted the inconvenience of the Lithuanian maintenance centre, as the journey from the Polish-Ukrainian border to the centre would take 36 hours. These problems significantly hinder the operational recovery of tanks and the maintenance of their combat readiness.

In order to address these difficulties, Germany is actively engaged in discussions with the Ukrainian industry on the possibility of conducting factory repairs in Ukraine to address the maintenance and readiness issues of the Leopard-2 tank.

Leopard-2 tanks are supplied to Ukraine not only from Germany, but also from many European countries. 

Read more HERE

[mariacallous]

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, after his December 2 visit to Kyiv, shared a message on X directed at Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“My message from Kyiv to Putin: We’re in this for the long haul. Our support for Ukraine will not waiver. We will stand by the Ukrainian people — for as long as it takes,” Scholz wrote.

During his visit to Kyiv, his first since June 2022, Scholz held talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and announced that Germany will provide 650 million euros (over $670 million) in military aid to Ukraine, to be delivered in December. The package will include IRIS-T air defense systems, Leopard 1 tanks, and drones.

[captain-price-unofficially]

Ukrainian tank crew with their Swedish-supplied Stridsvagn 122 MBT.

21st Mechanized Brigade, eastern Ukraine.

[i-identify-tanks-in-posts]

What is your favorite tank?

Leopard 2, no question. (A8 upgrade package, specifically) I mean, just LOOK at it. Its like the Abrams' cooler cousin, that instead of joining the army straight out of high school, went and got his bachelor's degree before joining its American cousin in whipping ass everywhere it can.

That shit is sex on treads, with an L/55 120mm gun and the most advanced C4I package currently on the market. Its got a V12 twin-turboed diesel engine that just sounds like sin. The profile, the turret cheeks, the way the angles all just FLOW... I am Completely Normal about this tank, and I will continue to be so. While other tanks have bigger guns (I am also Entirely Normal about that 130mm in the KF51), and other tanks have better survivability (shoutout to the Abrams), the Leopard is just such a beautiful beast with all the right features to drive me nuts. Also, it's the most popular tank in NATO, with some version of the Leopard 2 being used by 15 NATO members and 26 nations worldwide. To put a bow on this unhinged ranting, I'll summarize: I want to fuck this tank. I wanna fuck it BAD.

Sorry about the massive diatribe, but you are the one that asked, to be fair.

[jcmarchi]

Abrams Tanks May Have Some Problems in Ukraine - How Serious Are They? - Technology Org

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/abrams-tanks-may-have-some-problems-in-ukraine-how-serious-are-they-technology-org/

Abrams Tanks May Have Some Problems in Ukraine - How Serious Are They? - Technology Org

The Armed Forces of Ukraine are using a bunch of different types of Western tanks. Those include German Leopard 1 and 2 tanks, British Challenger 2 and, of course, at least 31 M1A1 Abrams tanks. All of these tanks have certain peculiarities about them and crews have to be prepared for each of these types individually. However, the Abrams main battle tank may pose the most serious problems.

Ukraine absolutely needs main battle tanks. The more the better. And the more advanced the better. However, the West lived in peace for so long that the tank reserves are not that great. NATO countries don’t have that many tanks to spare actually.

On top of that, the choices of which tanks to supply need to be made in a smart way, because Ukraine does not have any experience with the Western-designed tanks, there is no servicing or ammo supply infrastructure there.

M1 Abrams tanks are special in many ways. They also require special care. Image credit: Oregon National Guard via Wikimedia

And now the Ukrainian Ground Forces have a mish-mash of tanks, which have their own peculiarities:

The Leopard 1A5 is not only the oldest in its architecture, but also has a rifled 105 mm gun. This means that it needs special ammunition, which is not common in NATO anymore.

The Leopard 2s are the most standard, but Ukraine is getting a bunch of different versions of this tank, including 2A4s, 2A5s, 2A5s (Stridsvagn 122) and 2A6s. There are differences between these versions that need to be learned in training.

The Challenger 2 is of the same era as the Leopard 2, but it uses a rifled 120 mm gun, which also required special ammunition.

Finally, the M1A1 Abrams can share ammo with the Leopard 2, but has a multi-fuel turbine engine, instead of a regular reciprocating engine with cylinders and pistons.

Abrams tanks can burn any fuel – diesel, petrol, vodka, doesn’t matter. They are powerful and resilient. However, these gas turbine engines do need a lot of care.

Forbes writes that despite the engines in the Abrams tanks costing an unbelievable amount of money, they can succumb to dust and debris if the crews don’t maintain the filters very well. This is something crews learn during long months of training, but the Ukrainian tankmen had to learn this very quickly.

If the tank filters are not cleaned every 12 hours or so, the damage can be so severe that the engine and possibly the transmission will need to be replaced. Obviously, in a battlefield that could bring the tank to a tragic ending.

How do you clean the filters? Ukrainian Abrams crews will have to rev the tank’s engine to redline twice a day to start the pulse-jet system and blow air through the filters clearing out the dust and debris.

Power unit of the Abrams tank out of the hull. Image credit: Lance Cpl. Zachery Laning via Wikimedia

Even with the filters being kept up to, the Arbams will cause some issues to the Ukrainian Ground Forces. These tanks use a lot of fuel and require deep maintenance, which will have to be performed in Poland. Getting them there will not be easy either, because the Abrams is rather heavy at over 62 tonnes.

However, the effectiveness of the main battle tank mostly depends on the tactics. And if the defenders of Ukraine manage to exploit the strong sides of the Abrams well, these tanks will do a lot of damage to the Russian invaders.

Written by Povilas M.

Sources: Focus.ua, Wikipedia

[argumate]

The Wall Street Journal reported on January 24 that US President Joe Biden is preparing to send "a significant number" of Abrams M1 tanks to Ukraine and that the White House may announce the delivery as soon as January 25. German newspaper Der Spiegel reported on January 24 that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz decided to deliver at least one tank company (14 tanks) of Leopard 2 main battle tanks to Ukraine in an unspecified time frame. Poland likely will send Ukraine Leopard 2 tanks following Germany’s decision. Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Błaszczak stated on January 24 that Poland formally requested Germany grant permission to transfer Poland’s Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock stated that Berlin would not interfere if Poland wanted to send its Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. British officials confirmed on January 16 that the United Kingdom would send Ukraine 14 Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine. French President Emmanuel Macron stated he would not rule out the possibility of France sending Ukraine Leclerc tanks on January 22.

American tanks, German tanks, British tanks, and French tanks, surely it would simplify logistics to have one type of tank

[mokhosz-nafo]

🇩🇪🇺🇦 Updated German Military Aid to Ukraine:

▪️61,000 155mm shells

▪️22 Leopard 1A5

▪️3 Cheetah SPAAGs

▪️6 WiSENT 1 MC mine clearing tanks

▪️20 Ground Observer 12

▪️8 Mercedes-Benz Zetros tankers

▪️20 Sonobot 5 USVs

▪️30 Vector UAVs

▪️6 Hornet XR UAVs

▪️20 RQ-35 Heidrun UAVs

▪️12 Songbird UAVs

▪️22 FFG MRAPs

▪️5 Bv206 ATVs

▪️1 Bronco ATTC command vehicles

▪️2 TRML-4D air survailance radars

▪️3 bridge-laying tanks Biber

▪️1 Pionierpanzer 2A1 Dachs

▪️2 border protection vehicles

▪️112 vehicles

▪️10 MG3

▪️2 AMPS systems for helicopters

▪️1,000,000 rounds of firearm ammunition

[ukrainenews]

Daily Wrap Up March 21, 2023

Under the cut:

A Ukrainian army major in the Bakhmut area says the situation remains extremely difficult, but that he believes the Russians are losing their "offensive potential."

The U.K. Minister of State for Defense Annabel Goldie said on March 20 that some of the ammunition her country would deliver to Ukraine alongside Challenger 2 tanks contains depleted uranium. “Such rounds are highly effective in defeating modern tanks and armored vehicles,” Goldie added. The U.K. pledged to supply Ukraine with 28 Challenger 2 main battle tanks as part of the Western allies’ assistance package. Multiple countries promised to send dozens of German-made Leopard 2 tanks, and the U.S. promised to send 31 Abrams tanks later this year.

Chinese president, Xi Jinping, and Russian leader, Vladimir Putin, have finished formal talks at the Kremlin, and are signing documents on strategic cooperation, Russian state media are reporting. The pair signed a joint statement “deepening the two countries’ comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for the new era”, Hua Chunying, a spokesperson for the Chinese foreign affairs ministry, said.

The US has changed course and is now providing Ukraine with 31 M1-A1 Abrams tanks instead of the newer M1-A2 variants previously planned, Pentagon spokesperson Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder said Tuesday. This will allow for the tanks to get there faster. 

Patriot missile defense systems are set to be deployed to Ukraine faster than originally planned, and a group of 65 Ukrainian soldiers will complete their training on the systems at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, in the coming days, US defense officials said on Tuesday.

Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin emerged from two days of talks on Tuesday with warm words of friendship between China and Russia and joint criticism of the West, but no sign of a diplomatic breakthrough over Ukraine.

“A Ukrainian army major in the Bakhmut area says the situation remains extremely difficult, but that he believes the Russians are losing their "offensive potential."

Maksym Zhorin said on his Telegram channel that "the main task for the Ukrainian army is to hold the connection corridor, which allows for the supply and evacuation of the wounded."

"Therefore the fighting around this corridor, in the area of Ivankivske and Bohdanivka, is the most difficult," he said.

The two villages sit on routes west from Bakhmut toward the city of Kostiantynivka.

"One thing I can say for sure is that the enemy is gradually running out of offensive potential," Zhorin said. "They have sustained significant losses while trying to advance in the South and in the North, as well as while trying to attack directly through urban areas. Nevertheless, the endless assault attempts continue." "The Russians have a goal to take Bakhmut at any cost. We have orders to hold the line. We are following our orders."”-via CNN

~

“The U.K. Minister of State for Defense Annabel Goldie said on March 20 that some of the ammunition her country would deliver to Ukraine alongside Challenger 2 tanks contains depleted uranium.

“Such rounds are highly effective in defeating modern tanks and armored vehicles,” Goldie added.

The U.K. pledged to supply Ukraine with 28 Challenger 2 main battle tanks as part of the Western allies’ assistance package. Multiple countries promised to send dozens of German-made Leopard 2 tanks, and the U.S. promised to send 31 Abrams tanks later this year.

U.K. Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said in an interview with Reuters on Feb. 22 that Challenger tanks could start to arrive in Ukraine in the spring.

Depleted uranium is a dense metal formed as a byproduct of enriching natural uranium for nuclear fuel. Being still radioactive but at a much lower level than the original material, depleted uranium is used in armor-piercing projectiles and bombs for greater penetration power.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, depleted uranium can seriously threaten human health if its particles are ingested or inhaled. Munitions containing depleted uranium were used in both Gulf Wars, Serbia, and Kosovo.

Many studies on depleted uranium report no evidence of danger, but their results remain controversial, the Scientific Committee on Health and Environmental Risks of the European Commission wrote.

On March 21, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin condemned the U.K.’s plans to send ammunition containing depleted uranium to Ukraine, saying Moscow “would have to respond accordingly,” as quoted by Reuters.

Russia has made a series of nuclear threats since the beginning of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The Kremlin's continuous messaging of low-credibility threats of nuclear escalation aims to "intimidate the West and appeal to its (Kremlin's) ultranationalist base," the Institute for the Study of War wrote on March 2.”-via Kyiv Independent

~

“Chinese president, Xi Jinping, and Russian leader, Vladimir Putin, have finished formal talks at the Kremlin, and are signing documents on strategic cooperation, Russian state media are reporting.

The pair signed a joint statement “deepening the two countries’ comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for the new era”, Hua Chunying, a spokesperson for the Chinese foreign affairs ministry, said.

Xi and Putin “stressed that the Ukraine crisis should be settled through peace talks”, she said.

Hua added, “On the Ukraine issue, the two sides believe the purposes and principles of the UN Charter must be observed and international law respected. Russia speaks positively of China’s objective and impartial position on the Ukraine issue.

The two sides oppose the practice by any country or group of countries to seek advantages in the military, political and other areas to the detriment of the legitimate security interests of other countries.””-via The Guardian

~

“The US has changed course and is now providing Ukraine with 31 M1-A1 Abrams tanks instead of the newer M1-A2 variants previously planned, Pentagon spokesperson Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder said Tuesday.

“[A]fter further study and analysis on how best to do this, DoD in close coordination with Ukraine has made the decision to provide the M1-A1 variant of the Abrams tank, which will enable us to submit significantly expedite delivery timelines and deliver this important capability to Ukraine by the fall of this year,” Ryder said at a press conference.

He added that the US would also be providing Ukraine with “advances armor and weapons systems” that are “very similar capability” to the M1-A2, including a .50-caliber heavy machine gun and 120 mm cannon.”-via CNN

~

“Patriot missile defense systems are set to be deployed to Ukraine faster than originally planned, and a group of 65 Ukrainian soldiers will complete their training on the systems at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, in the coming days, US defense officials said on Tuesday.

The troops will then move on to Europe for additional training on the two Patriot systems—one American, and one built by the Germans and Dutch— that will be deployed to Ukraine in the coming weeks, the officials told reporters at Fort Sill.

US trainers at Fort Sill, where the 65 Ukrainians have been training since January 15, were able to significantly speed up the timeline of the course because of the Ukrainians’ baseline knowledge of air defense systems, the officials said. The acceleration of Patriot deployments comes the same day it was reported that the US will accelerate the time it takes to ship Abrams tanks to Ukraine by sending older M1-A1 models of America's main battle tank instead of the more modern version of the tank, according to two US officials.

“Our assessment is that the Ukrainian soldiers are impressive, and absolutely a quick study,” said Brig. Gen. Shane Morgan, the Fort Sill commander. “Due to their extensive air defense knowledge and experience in a combat zone, it was easier— though never easy—for them to grasp the Patriot System Operations and Maintenance concepts.”

The US military had allocated 10 weeks for the training, but the Ukrainians completed it in about 8 weeks. The training schedule was “aggressive,” a Fort Sill official said, with the Ukrainians training daily from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. local time.”-via CNN

~

“Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin emerged from two days of talks on Tuesday with warm words of friendship between China and Russia and joint criticism of the West, but no sign of a diplomatic breakthrough over Ukraine.

Xi's visit to Moscow - long touted by the Kremlin as a show of support from its most powerful friend - featured plenty of demonstrative bonhomie. The two leaders referred to each other as dear friends, promised economic cooperation and described their countries' relations as the best they have ever been.

A joint statement included familiar accusations against the West - that Washington was undermining global stability and NATO barging into the Asia-Pacific region.

On Ukraine, Putin praised Xi for a peace plan he proposed last month, and blamed Kyiv and the West for rejecting it.

"We believe that many of the provisions of the peace plan put forward by China are consonant with Russian approaches and can be taken as the basis for a peaceful settlement when they are ready for that in the West and in Kyiv. However, so far we see no such readiness from their side," Putin said.

But Xi barely mentioned the conflict at all, saying that China had an "impartial position" on it.

Responding to the meeting, the White House said China's position was not impartial, and urged Beijing to pressure Russia to withdraw from Ukraine's sovereign territory to end the war.

The summit, Putin's biggest display of diplomacy since he ordered his invasion of Ukraine a year ago, was partly upstaged in Kyiv, where Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida made an unannounced visit and met President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

The latest world leader to make the gruelling overland journey to show solidarity with Ukraine, Kishida toured Bucha on the capital's outskirts, left littered with dead last year by fleeing Russian troops. He lay a wreath by a church before observing a moment of silence and bowing.

"The world was astonished to see innocent civilians in Bucha killed one year ago. I really feel great anger at the atrocity upon visiting that very place here," Kishida said.”-via Reuters

[awesome-casuallyfamouscollector]

The Lithuanian military evaluated “the German Leopard, the American Abrams and the [South] Korean Black Panther tanks,” according to the minister.

The key evaluation criteria the military used to select its preferred vehicle included the price and maintenance costs, operational environment, mobility, safety, adaptability, protection, firepower, and interoperability, Anušauskas said.

He did not disclose the estimated value of the planned procurement and the number, or variant, of Leopard 2 tanks to be purchased(..)

P.S. Very good news! glad for the commitment of our southern neighbours to strengthen their defences!

Abrams is very heavy tank, expensive to operate, and the Americans wouldn't sell the most modern version either...! Also, we don't know who the American people will vote for president! If the Kremlin-obedient Trump's gang comes to power there, then the acquisition and operation of Abrams tanks may become problematic. Actually, when buying American armament or any other armament produced in the West, it is worth buying in time the sets of spare parts necessary for the repair of equipment...! We never know what kind of "useful idiots" the Kremlin will elect in the next election...

Maybe a better source of arms purchases would be South Korea: 1) they better understand the threat posed by Russians and Communist China: 2) they maintain a sufficiently high production capacity of the military industry...

In any case, it would be much better if modern tanks were produced in one of the Eastern European countries...