25 it appeared that no final collective decision on tank counts and delivery timing had been reached. Talks are still in progress among NATO states about that, and as of Jan. How many of these spiffy German tanks, from all sources, is Ukraine actually going to get? Officials from Poland, Sweden, Spain, Greece, Finland, Canada, Sweden and the Netherlands have in recent weeks suggested they might send Leopards to Ukraine along with Germany. One of Berlin’s pre-conditions for permitting shipment of Leopard tanks to Ukraine was that not only Germany send them. Where are they coming from? Just Germany? The Turkish army made that mistake in Syria and lost eight Leopard 2A4 tanks in a single battle back in 2016. Perhaps the biggest weakness of the Leopard 2 is that Ukrainian commanders will be tempted to deploy the tanks in close terrain without infantry. But if one is to lose a busted tank to artillery a Leopard 2 is an expensive loss. Russia-made and Ukraine-made tanks have the same weakness and they break down more often, and among Western main battle tanks the Leopard 2 has a reputation for reliability. Like in all modern tanks, the Leopard 2’s side, roof and rear armor is relatively thin and vulnerable to attack by most anti-tank weapons in the Russian inventory.Īnother problem common to all tanks in the Russo-Ukraine war context is that when one breaks near the front it is often spotted by drones and pounded into scrap by artillery, before the crew can fix it.
OK, what are the weak points of the Leopard 2?Ī major problem is that with a weight of 55-65 tons (depending on the model) the Leopard 2 is heavier than the capacity of most bridges in Ukraine, meaning the tanks will have trouble shifting from sector to sector and their attack directions will be predictable.
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