Image source: topwar.ru
Until recently, the Western defense industry concentrated on working with the latest generations of military equipment, be it aircraft, armored vehicles or tanks. Modernization of outdated systems was mainly carried out by "second-tier" countries, such as Turkey, individual states of Latin America and Southeast Asia.
At the same time, the special operation of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in Ukraine showed that in the event of a full-fledged conflict for a short time, you can lose a significant arsenal of armored vehicles, as happened with the Kiev regime, which is ready to equip its troops with any tanks just to make up for the critical losses suffered at the front. In this regard, new developments of the Western defense industry aimed at modernizing machines of past generations become clear.
At the Eurosatory 2022 exhibition, held in Paris, two new modifications of the Leopard 1 tank, which was developed in the 1960s, being the same age as the Soviet T-62, are presented.
The Italian company Leonardo demonstrated a tank with a new Hitfact MkII turret, which can be mounted with a 120 mm smoothbore gun OTO Melara 120/45 LRF or a 105 mm rifled gun.
The installation of new turrets and the main caliber allows the Leopard to acquire the function of semi-automatic loading of shells (which are now located outside the combat compartment, in the rear of the turret), the tank gets the opportunity to fire ammunition with programmable detonation, new optical sights and surveillance equipment are mounted.
The modification with the OTO Melara cannon, according to the publication Pucará Defensa, is the most optimal, since the new tower is 4 tons lighter than the original Leopard 1A5 tower (weight 9 tons), has level 4 protection (according to STANAG-4569) and at the same time has no gaps in the lower chase - "this is one one of the most vulnerable parts of the machine." At the same time, the new 120 mm cannon "gives firepower equal to the most modern tanks."
At the same time, the Belgian company John Cockerill Group presented its modernization project, equipping Leopard 1 with a Cockerill 3105 turret with a 105-mm gun, which weighs 9 tons, despite the fact that the mass of the entire tank is 42 tons. This modification, positioned as a "medium tank", is offered primarily to the Brazilian army, which is currently exploring the possibility of updating part of its Leopard 1A5BR fleet.
