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

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...

Germany to send tanks to Ukraine

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Which Tanks are Germany, UK and the United States sending to Ukraine in hope to Change the Course of War

Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States are to send tanks to support Ukraine in the first phase of a coordinated effort by the West to provide dozens of the heavy weapons to help Kyiv counter Russian aggression as international reluctance to send tanks to the battlefront falls away. Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy applauded Biden, commenting on Twitter that “the free world is…

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.

Leopard 2 A7v [ Heer ]

I love this picture.. 🖼

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

Germany Aims To Buy 18 Leopard 2 Tanks. #ukraine #germany #europe #eu #n...

In a year of hard fighting since taking delivery of its first 71 German-made Leopard 2 tanks, the Ukrainian army has lost—according to Oryx—at least 12 of the tanks.

But the losses aren’t the reason the army is struggling to generate combat-ready Leopard 2s. Many more Leopard 2s have been damaged than have been destroyed—and the Ukrainians are having real problems getting the damaged tanks fixed and returned to service.[...]

As many as 59 Leopard 2s in theory remain in Ukrainian service. But in reality, potentially dozens of the intact tanks are out of service for want of repairs. When German T.V. network NTV visited a Leopard 2A6 platoon this month, just one of the unit’s four tanks was combat-ready.

German Green Party politician Sebastian Schäfer went looking for answers, and found them in Lithuania, where German firms Rheinmetall and Krauss-Maffei Wegmann run a workshop that fixes Leopard 2A6s and Strv 122s. Leopard 2A4s go to Poland for repairs. “Only a very small number of the main battle tanks delivered can still be used by Ukraine,” Schäfer reported.

There’s a shortage of spares at the front line and at the repair center. This should come as no surprise to close observers of Germany’s long military decline since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Desperate for parts and eager to fix their tanks themselves, the Ukrainians tend to remove parts from the most badly-damaged Leopard 2s before loading them onto trucks and trains for transport to Poland or Lithuania, Maj. Gen. Christian Freuding explained. [...]

But this cannibalization means the workers at the repairs centers have to fix battlefield damage and replace stripped parts. The repair centers aren’t just fixing tanks, they’re “rebuilding” them, Freuding said.[...]

Ukrainian defense planners meanwhile have chopped the 47th Brigade’s surviving Leopard 2A6s to the 21st Brigade, consolidating those tanks with the remaining Strv 122s in order to simplify their logistics.

And The Netherlands and Germany are beginning to deliver, presumably to the 33rd Brigade, 14 fresh Leopard 2A4s.

But the longer-term fix requires German industry to produce tank parts. Lots of them. And consistently.

Maybe there's a lesson to be learned here about the efficacy of flashy expensive military hardware in actual combat against a peer/near-peer competitor. Maybe not tho! [22 Jan 24]

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

The oldest of these is the Leopard 2A5, introduced in 1995, which is armed with a 120mm/L44 smoothbore main gun. The improved Leopard 2A6M arrived in service in 2001 and features a longer-barrel 120mm/L55 gun, as well as improved mine-protection measures and other enhancements. The latest model is the Leopard 2A7V, in use since 2014, with a range of other improvements, including an air conditioning system, advanced optronics, and programmable ammunition. You can read more about the differences between Leopard 2 variants here.

Germany finally gave formal permission for Poland to send Leopard-2 tanks and is evidently sending some of their own as well. in addition, the US is finalizing plans to send Abrams tanks. good morning and happy 45th birthday to Volodymyr Zelensky and Volodymyr Zelensky only.

Tank-Man, a question concerning Ukraine. Much of their domestic manufacturing base remains intact to continue production of Soviet style tanks. However, they are also gaining experience with various NATO standard tanks, and mutual manufacturing contracts with various European arms manufacturers. Should Ukraine switch to entirely Western-style tanks once the war is over? And if so:

EASY MODE: which tank should they choose (no limits) and why? HARD MODE (optional): You are not allowed to pick Leopard 2. Same question as above. CYBERPUNK LAZOR MODE: Same as above, but you can only pick from next-gen tank designs that are either prototypes as of today, or drawing board designs.

GO!

Damnit frogman, you know me too well. Yes, alright, I was going to say the Leopard 2a7, okay? Are you happy? But since that's off the table, I think Ukrainian doctrine could go one of two ways. One, they could keep the fleet of modernized T-80s they seem to be quite skilled with, and develop them further as time goes on, and hopefully with Russian aggression a distant memory, they'll eventually be able to develop their current experience with the T-80 and western tanks into a more hybrid design ethos.

However, if I had to pick a western tank for Ukraine to adopt off the shelf, I'd suggest getting a shipment of M1 Abrams, as most of the western powers aren't as keen on exporting their MBT technology as Germany is, and the Leopard and Abrams are the two main western tanks that Ukrainian tankers have experience in at the moment. So, Abrams.

As far as currently-in-development tanks? If test beds count, Abrams X all the way. It is, IMO, the most promising prototype of the 4th generation. However, if not, the K2 Black Panther is my next choice, because that thing's C4I capabilities give me a tingle in my pants.

I hope that answers your questions, and if not, just ask clarifying ones in the reblogs.

Leopard 2 A7V