What is a tank? Leopard 2 is a tank. Such carts have tracks and not wheels. They have particularly thick armor in the front and in the gun turret. They have big guns. There are many types of armored vehicles, but tanks are in a class of their own. Armored personnel vehicles, self-propelled artillery and armored personnel carriers are not tanks. Why must the Germans decide? Leopard tanks are built in Germany. The Germans therefore formally have the right to decide which countries can use them. Buyer countries that wish to send or sell their wagons to other countries must ask the Germans for permission. MANY: Norway bought 52 Leopard 2 A4 from the Netherlands. There are large quantities of this and newer types in Europe. Photo: Ole-Sverre Haugli/Forsvaret Is it an assault weapon? Tanks like the Leopard 2 are the primary offensive weapon in an army. They must reach the enemy and crush them through superior firepower, shock effect and the vehicle’s physical characteristics. Tanks have cannons and machine guns that are used to fire at the enemy. The chariot scares the enemy and it can run over the enemy. Armored vehicles cannot operate alone. They must be supported by others, primarily infantry who both protect them and take ground from the enemy. Another main task of tanks is to combat enemy tanks. A LITTLE SIMILAR: Here are vulnerable points in the frontal armor compared between the Russian T-90 and a Leopard 2A4. The two wagons are somewhat similar, but the Leopard should have better electronic systems. Photo: Topwar RU Are the Ukrainians getting something they didn’t have before? – Leopard 2 has better firepower and provides better protection for the crew than the vehicles the Ukrainians have now, says Commander of the Army in Norway, Major General Lars Sivert Lervik. The Ukrainians already have many tanks. These are older, Soviet wagons. The wagons were mostly produced during the Cold War. Stocks of such vehicles, ammunition for them and spare parts are getting smaller and smaller. The countries that provide equipment to Ukraine have more or less given away what they can. Providing Western vehicles to Ukraine ensures that the country has enough vehicles for future offensive operations. Operations to liberate Ukrainian territory. The Leopard 1 was developed in the 1960s. It has a cannon with an internal diameter of 105 mm and a top speed of 65 kilometers per hour. Leopard 2 is a construction about ten years younger and is an upgrade of Leopard 1. It has a 120 mm cannon and a top speed of just over 70 kilometers per hour. The Leopard 2 was first used in 1979. OLD: The Norwegian Leopard 2 is of the A4 type. They have been upgraded and have been given the designation A4NO. Photo: Torbjørn Kjosvold / Defense Which variant of Leopard will Ukraine get? There have been a number of upgrades to the Leopard 2. The Polish tanks are mostly Leopard 2A4, 2A5 and 2PL. The latest version of the Leopard 2 is the 2A7. It is possible that Norway will buy these. The wagons Norway uses now are Leopard 2A4NO. Norway and a number of other countries received these Leopard 2A4s from the German and Dutch surplus stocks. The Leopard 2A4 variant is clearly the most common. When the Cold War ended, Germany and the Netherlands sold their surplus fighters to a number of other countries. The older version of the Leopard 2 had been upgraded to the 2A4 standard ahead of this. Germany had 2125 Leopard 2A4 in 1992. MODERN: The last issue is Leopard 2 is A7. It is unlikely that Ukraine will receive this. Photo: KMW What is the purpose of tanks? Tanks must ensure that the firepower of the big guns can be used against the enemy. The cannon must be able to be moved quickly even in rough terrain. The cannon, and the crew, must be protected so that it is possible to survive on the battlefield. To achieve this, tanks are equipped with thick armor, belts, strong engines and good sensors. FIRE POWER: The cannon with an internal diameter of 12 centimeters gives the Leopard 2 great impact. The systems for pointing the barrel in the right direction also lead to quick and precise fire. Photo: Ole-Sverre Haugli / Defense How far can the cannon shoot? Leopard 2 uses a smoothbore cannon. The smooth barrel means it has no rifling in the barrel. The projectiles the cannon sends out are stabilized with fins. How far the cannon can shoot depends on, among other things, the ammunition used and the length of the barrel. Newer versions of the Leopard 2 have longer gun barrels than the older ones. Starting with version 2A6, the Leopard has such a longer cannon. It must be able to fire effectively at targets five kilometers away. How can Leopard 2 fire while running? The cannon is stabilized. This means that it can be kept aimed at a target even if the tank is moving. This is a big advantage in that the tank does not have to stand still to fire. This is not something unique to the Leopard 2, or to so-called Western tanks. Even older Russian tanks like the T-72 have stabilizers. How good the stabilizers are depends on sensors, electronics and mechanical parts. Also important is the system that points the cannon barrel in the right direction to be able to fire at a target. The Leopard 2A4 has a fully digital system that helps to aim the gun at the target quickly. A LOT OF TRAINING: A Leopard 2 has a crew of four and has many advanced systems. The Ukrainians now use wagons with a crew of three. They will need time to learn a completely new system. Photo: Frederik Ringnes/Forsvaret / Frederik Ringnes/Forsvaret Is Leopard 2 easy to use? The Ukrainians need a lot of training before they can use the Leopard 2 effectively. It has advanced information systems and fire control systems. These systems are also a great strength. The crew gets a good understanding of the situation and the opportunity to use the wagon effectively. The wagon, with its V12 turbodiesel and associated power transmission and damping systems, is fast and agile, but requires good training from the driver. STILL VULNERABLE: A damaged Canadian Leopard 2 in Afghanistan. Tanks can be knocked out by many different weapons, and rely on support to operate effectively. Photo: AFC How long do the Ukrainians need for training? Major General Lervik is a former cavalryman. This means that he has a lot of experience with armored vehicles. He was involved when Norway was to start using the new version of the CV-90 storm armored vehicle. – Crews who already had a good knowledge of the older edition had to be retrained on the new edition. They were therefore only to use a more modern carriage. It took three weeks, says Lervik. The training period for a tank crew in Norway is fourteen weeks. They are then able to use the cart, but must receive further training to be able to function well in the department. – So I would estimate that the time it will take for an experienced Ukrainian crew to become good enough to use a modern tank is somewhere between these number of weeks, says Lervik.
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This is the German tank Leopard 2 – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
