Leopard 2 ("Leopard 2") is a German main battle tank (MBT). Its creation began in Germany in 1970 after the joint German-American project MVT-70 failed. In parallel, two vehicles were developed – Leopard 2K with traditional weapons and Leopard 2FK with anti-tank missiles. Additionally, various suspensions, guns, chassis components and fire control systems were tested . In 1971, the project was approved. During the development of Leopard 2, a number of advanced technologies and design solutions were borrowed from the joint German-American MBT-70 program.
In 1972-1974, the first samples were created by Krauss-Maffei. At the same time, Germany and the United States signed a standardization agreement that unified weapons and many other systems. That is why almost immediately a new car was developed, with a multi-layer reservation.
In 1977, the Bundeswehr initially ordered 1,800 of these main battle tanks to supplement and replace the old tanks in service. The first serial batch of 30 tanks was manufactured in 1979, and in the same year the Leopard 2 was adopted by the German army.
Leopard 2 has a layout that has become classic for German tank construction with a rear engine arrangement, a self-supporting tower in the center of the hull and control units in the bow of the tank.
The hull and turret of the tank are welded from rolled sheets of armored steel. The main protection is concentrated in the front of the tank, where the upper armor plate and the forehead of the turret have a strong slope, which also increases the likelihood of a ricochet. The booking was made using the Chobham technology, based on the use of several layers of combined armor. As an additional protection for the tracks, there are hinged screens made of reinforced rubber.
The tower is equipped with seating for all crew members, with the exception of the driver. To the left of the gun is the loader, to the right – the commander and the gunner. In the left wall of the tower there is a hatch designed for ejecting spent cartridges and feeding shells when replenishing ammunition.
In the combat compartment of the tank there are racks for ammunition and part of the electronics is located. Ready ammunition is placed in a separate compartment in the turret of the tower with blown panels. In the event of an explosion of ammunition, it is provided that the blast wave will knock out special bouncing panels and will be directed outward from the car, saving the crew.
The main sight of the Leopard 2 tank is an EMES 15 device with a 12x electro-optical laser rangefinder from Zeiss-Eltro Optronic. The surveillance equipment includes a solid-state laser, an additional turret sight, and a thermal imaging surveillance system. The tank commander, as his own observation and guidance device, has a periscope with stabilized optics at 2- and 8-fold magnification, capable of operating independently of the gunner, including taking over the functions of targeting and hitting the target.
The tank is equipped with a radiation, chemical, biological protection system and automatic fire extinguishing systems.
The tank has a turbocharged MTU MB 873 Ka501 diesel engine that develops 1,500 horsepower. Leopard 2 can be equipped with a set to overcome fords. After training, it can overcome water obstacles up to four meters deep.
The Leopard 2 tank is armed with a fully stabilized 120mm Rheinmetall RH-M-120 smoothbore cannon. The machine carries 42 shells to the main gun. In total, 15 ready-to-use shots are stored in the turret of the tower, the rest are stored in the front of the body by the driver. Leopard 2 usually uses two main types of ammunition – APFSDS-T armor-piercing shells and HEAT-MP-T multipurpose shells. The APFSDS-T projectile penetrates about 450 millimeters of rolled homogeneous armor at a range of 2000 meters. The HEAT-MP-T projectile is effective against both soft and hard targets.
Additional armament includes two machine guns, one of which is paired with the main gun, and the second is anti-aircraft and mounted on top of the roof.
The equipment of the fire control system (FMS) provides the receipt of three values about the range to the target in four seconds. The data is transmitted to the fire control system computer and used for decision-making. Since the gunner's sight is integrated with a laser rangefinder, so he can directly see the results of calculations in digital form. The maximum range of the rangefinder is 10000 meters with an error of 20 meters per 10 kilometers. The SLA allows Leopard 2 to destroy a moving target while driving over rough terrain.
The crew of the tank consists of four people, including the commander, gunner, loader and driver. The escape hatch is located in the floor behind the driver.
The Leopard-2 had many modifications:
- — A0, A1, A2 and A3 – these models gradually improved thermal imager, ammunition, surveillance devices and electronics;
- — 2A4 is the most popular version of the tank, with a digital fire control system, a fire extinguishing system, new shells and a turret. All old modifications, including in other countries, have been improved to this level;
- — 2A5 – modification of 1993 with modular wedge-shaped armor and more advanced GPS and surveillance devices, anti-shatter lining and a modified braking system. Due to the wedge-shaped armor, it acquired its characteristic recognizable appearance;
- — 2A6 – a car with a new longer cannon, an electric turret drive and reinforced armor, as well as an armored plate that protects the tank from mines from below;
- — Leopard 2A7+ – modification of 2010, the most modern version with enhanced protection, improved fire control system, "digital tower", commander brake, auxiliary power plant and additional weapons module. Many basic systems have been replaced with digital ones and linked together.
Technical characteristics of the Leopard 2 tank:Combat weight – from 50.5 to 63 tons in the latest versions.
The length of the case is 7700 millimeters.
The length with the gun forward is 9670 millimeters.
The width is 3700 millimeters.
The height is 2790 millimeters.
The clearance is 490 millimeters.
The type of armor is combined anti–projectile, mounted on 2A5 and later models.
The speed on the highway is from 68 to 72 kilometers per hour.
The power reserve on the highway is from 550 to 500 kilometers per hour.
Specific power – 24.2 horsepower per ton.
The ascent to be overcome is 30 degrees.
The wall to be overcome is 1.1 meters.
The ditch to be overcome is 3 meters.
The ford to be overcome is 4 meters with underwater tank driving equipment, 1 meter without preparation.
The Leopard 2 is Germany's main battle tank. It has remained for more than 40 years the leading type of armament in its field. Also, this combat vehicle is considered the main tank of the NATO military-political bloc, as it surpasses the equally famous American M1 Abrams tank in its performance.
By 2019, Leopard 2 tanks of various modifications were in service with 16 foreign countries of the world.
Leopard 2 had a little time to fight in Afghanistan in November 2007. Some cars were blown up by explosive devices, but the crews mostly survived. After that, additional bottom protection was put on the tank.
Leopard 2A4 took part in the war in Syria. In general, the tanks showed themselves well there, although numerous photos of undermined tanks made many experts doubt the invincibility of Leopard 2. More modern models have not yet participated in battles.
The material is prepared on the basis of information from open sources