25 Facts About Leopard 2

Leopard 2 is a 3rd generation main battle tank originally developed by Krauss-Maffei in the 1970s for the West German army.

The Leopard 2 was used in Kosovo with the German Army, in Afghanistan with the Dutch, Danish and Canadian contributions to the International Security Assistance Force, and saw action in Syria with the Turkish Armed Forces.

Leopard 2 first entered service in 1979, and its service life is anticipated to end around 2030.

Deployment of the new tank, titled Main Ground Combat System, will be preceded by incremental upgrades to the Leopard 2, including a new digital turret core system and situational awareness system and an Active Protection System .

The Leopard 2 Improved won the competition against the M1A2 Abrams and the French Leclerc; after intensive test from January 1994 to June 1994, the Swedish military opted for the Leopard 2.

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The Leopard 2 Improved managed to outperform the Challenger 2E, Leclerc, M1A2 Abrams, T-80U and, T-84 and was chosen by the Greek officials.

The Leopard 2 was already chosen in 2001 after successfully competing one year earlier in the Turkish army trials against the T-84 Yatagan, Leclerc and a version of the M1A2 Abrams fitted with a German MTU diesel engine.

In 1989 the Leopard 2 was evaluated as possible replacement for the Challenger 1 tank.

Until their return in 2004, the Leopard 2 tanks were stationed at the Austrian-Swiss camp "Casablanca".

Leopard 2 C2s were deployed to Kandahar in December 2006, but they were by then almost 30 years old, and were nearing the end of their operational life.

Canadian Chief of the Defence Staff General Rick Hillier denied reports that a Leopard 2 tank that was struck by an IED was a write-off, insisting that the tank has been repaired and is in use.

At least eight Leopard 2 MBT have been destroyed according to photographic reports.

The frontal arc of the Leopard 2's armour is designed to withstand large caliber kinetic energy penetrators and shaped charge projectiles.

Leopard 2's design follows the concept of compartmentation; possible sources of fire or explosions have been moved away from the crew.

Urban combat, the Leopard 2 can be fitted with different packages of modular armour.

Leopard 2 is equipped with two machine guns, one mounted co-axially, the other on an anti-aircraft mount.

Standard fire control system found on the Leopard 2 is the German EMES 15 fire control system with a dual magnification stabilised primary sight.

Leopard 2 has a torsion bar suspension and has advanced friction dampers.

Leopard 2 can drive through water 4 meters deep using a snorkel or 1.

German Army has prioritised mobility in its Leopard 2, which has made it one of the fastest MBTs in the world.

Leopard 2 hull was used for the Vickers Mk 7 main battle tank, which featured a British-designed turret, where some of the innovations later were incorporated into the Challenger 2 design.

The Leopard 2 chassis is larger, thus providing a more stable firing platform for the Marksman turret to operate from.

Also based on the Leopard 2 Improved, Stridsvagn 122 is a Swedish Army tank with 120 units built, 91 of which were licence-produced in Sweden.

Leopard 2 Hel is a derivative of the 2A6 that was ordered by the Greek Army in 2003 – the "Hel" stands for "Hellenic".

Therefore, the Leopard 2 PSO is equipped with more effective all-around protection, a secondary weapons station, improved reconnaissance ability, a bulldozer blade, a shorter gun barrel, non-lethal armament, close-range surveillance ability, a searchlight and further changes to improve its perseverance and mobility in a built-up non-wide open area.

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