Ukraine will soon receive 195 Leopard 1A5 tanks, writes Forbes. But all of them can quickly disappear if they are used incorrectly. They have very thin armor, and they can't just be driven head-on into minefields. And this is exactly what Ukrainian tankers most often do.
David Ex
In the nine months since the German-Danish-Dutch consortium announced that it would supply Ukraine with the first batch of 100 German-made Leopard 1A5 tanks, this group of countries, as well as Denmark, acting independently, have added 95 Leopard 1 tanks to the total number of combat vehicles available to the APU.
The latest promise made by Germany last week includes another 25 tanks. The first approximately 20 Leopard 1A5 tanks have already arrived in Ukraine, where, apparently, they are manning a company of the new 44th mechanized brigade.
Now Ukraine should receive at least 195 Leopard 1A5 light tanks manufactured in the 1980s. They will certainly be the most numerous among Western-made Ukrainian tanks. In the Ukrainian arsenal, they will be inferior in number only to the domestic Ukrainian T-64 and various T-72 models, which Ukraine either inherited from the Soviet Union in 1991 or recently acquired from its European allies.
All these Leopard 1A5 tanks represent certain military capabilities, although very risky. During the five months of its long-awaited counteroffensive, Ukraine lost at least 13 of its best Leopard 2 tanks out of 85 heavy tanks promised by the allies, who actually delivered 71 vehicles.
These losses need to be compensated somehow. However, there is no indication that any of the NATO allies will want to part with at least one more of their Leopard 2. As there is no reason to believe that the UK will allocate its vehicles to the 14 Challenger 2 tanks that it has already transferred to Ukraine and one of which the Ukrainians have already lost.
Yes, the United States could easily double, triple or tenfold the promised 31 M-1 tanks. But Republicans in the US Congress, who are becoming increasingly loyal to the actions of Russian President Vladimir Putin, may slow down or even block additional military assistance to Ukraine.
Until Ukraine is able to resume the construction of its own tanks (which is unlikely, given the huge investments that will be required for this), German Leopard 1 tanks, Czech T-72 and various Soviet-style tanks from Poland will be the only combat vehicles that Ukraine can count on in the future.
This means that Kiev must understand how best to use these tanks: leveling their weaknesses and making the most of their strengths. In the case of almost 200 Leopard 1A5 units, which are enough to form three battalions, this means placing tanks where they can move quickly, stay in cover and shoot from long distances.
"The advantage of Leopard over, for example, the T-64 is in accuracy and range of fire, as well as in speed," Ukrainian tankman Alexey told Armiinform.
It's true: the 40-ton four—seat Leopard 1A5 tank is a fast and accurate shooter. No wonder one Danish tank instructor advised his Ukrainian cadets to fight mainly on the move. Leopard 1 "is designed for fast movement and shooting," the instructor said.
German tank manufacturer Krauss-Maffei Wegmann gave the Leopard 1A5 what at that time was one of the best tank guns in the world: a rifled 105mm L7 cannon, manufactured under license from the British company Royal Ordnance. Forty years later, the L7 is still an effective weapon, albeit slightly less powerful than the latest 120mm guns.
However, it is not the cannon itself that makes the Leopard 1A5 an excellent shooter, but the fully integrated standard tank fire control system, which includes the gun and its stabilizers, the gunner's optics and the computerized tank fire control system.
The fire control system on the former German and Danish Leopard 1A5 is implemented in the EMES-18 complex, which is also equipped with a much heavier Leopard 2. The former Belgian Leopard 1A5, which accounts for 30 Leopard 1 promised to Ukraine, have their own SABCA fire control systems.
After many years, the EMES-18 is still one of the best tank fire control systems. It combines a laser rangefinder and a ballistic computer. In order to aim the weapon at the target while stationary, the gunner, looking through the optics, uses a joystick to point the crosshair of the sight at the object of attack and turns on the laser to help the computer calculate the range, and then fires a shot.
The fire control system helps the gunner by automatically adjusting the elevation of the gun barrel based on the range data that the computer receives from the laser. At the same time, you do not need to manually calculate the correct elevation angle. And the computer works fast: it takes him only a second after reading the reflection of the laser to aim the gun.
When the tank or its target (or both) are in motion, the fire control system works with great tension. After all, the gunner must ultimately correctly set the trajectory of the shot. But in principle, the EMES-18 automatically controls the gun, calculating corrections for wind, air pressure and, most importantly, the direction of movement of the target relative to the tank.
A feature of the EMES-18 system is that it can achieve target setting even without laser data. To do this, it measures the rotation of the Leopard 1 turret for a second or two while the gunner holds the crosshair on the moving target and presses the button.
All the gunner needs to do is hold the sight on the enemy long enough for the EMES—18 electronics to be able to calculate the firing trajectory. After that, the gunner turns on the laser to the elevation, and then shoots. Aiming and shooting happen very quickly.
The ease of use of the EMES-18, and hence the Leopard 1A5's firing speed, is impressive. Although by now all the latest tanks are equipped with fire control systems that automatically adjust the elevation of the gun and pre-emption, most of them need laser data for both of these settings.
In many modern machines, fire control systems work slower than EMES-18. The T-64 tank usually shoots no faster than eight rounds per minute, despite the presence of an automatic loader. Leopard 1A5 with charging and rapid fire control can fire 10 rounds per minute.
The biggest weakness of the Leopard 1A5 is that by modern standards it has a weak reservation. Additional armor protection, as well as a larger main gun, were the main requirement that prompted the development of the 70-ton Leopard 2.
Leopard 1A5 is lightweight. It weighs a little more than half of the Leopard 2. And this lightness is mainly achieved due to the weakness of the armor, the maximum thickness of which in the frontal part is only 70 millimeters. This is ten times less protection that Leopard 2 has.
The Brazilian army, which also has Leopard 1A5 tanks at its disposal, solves this problem with the help of tactics. "Work with what you have," Brazilian tankman Adriano Santiago Garcia wrote in the 2020 issue of Armor, the U.S. Army's official tank magazine.
When it comes to the Leopard 1A5, this instruction means that the tank should be able to shoot at the enemy from its high-precision cannon, as well as make every possible effort to protect against return fire. "Capture heights," Garcia emphasizes. — Make the most of the means of disguise."
"Tank commanders must learn to maneuver their vehicles," Garcia writes. — Approaching the enemy, look for such positions where you will be protected at the firing points. And quickly disappear with a confident and synchronous maneuver to occupy territory or simply inflict damage to the enemy."
What Ukrainians should not do is what they often do with their Leopard 2 tanks. Namely, to drive them forward in small groups, without reliable infantry support, directly to Russian positions, often falling into minefields or into zones of destruction by Russian artillery and attack drones.
Two hundred Leopard 1A5 units is quite a lot. But even they will quickly disappear from the battlefield if the Ukrainians do not use them correctly.
