Germany and its NATO partners are supplying the Ukraine with the Leopard 2. However, Russia has a missile system that can pose a threat to the main battle tank.
Munich/Bachmut – Boris Pistorius (SPD) took a close look at it: the “Leopard 2 A6” battle tank.
The German Defense Minister was at Field Marshal Rommel barracks in Augustdorf in North Rhine-Westphalia, home of the 203rd Panzer Battalion, on Wednesday afternoon (February 1).
Leopard 2 A6 main battle tank: Germany delivers 14 units to Ukraine
During a combat simulation, Bundeswehr soldiers demonstrated to the minister, among other things, the smoke screens of the main battle tank, which are intended to protect the 60-ton colossus from enemy troops.
What was only simulated at the military training area is likely to become harsh reality in the Ukraine war.
Germany delivers 14 such “Leopard” tanks to Kyiv as support in defense against the Russian invasion.
In a coalition with other NATO partners, 90 "Leos" are said to be handed over to the Ukrainian armed forces in the coming weeks.
But: Is the “Leopard” really that superior?
Does his composite armor make him almost invulnerable?
In the video: Compact - The most important news about the Russia-Ukraine war
The "Leos" have a higher firing range of up to 4000 meters than the old Russian "T-72" tank.
And the not so old Russian "T-80" have the weak point that they are recognizable for thermal imagers - like those of the "Leopard" - because of the hot exhaust gases of their gas turbines - even from a longer distance.
Leopard 2 A6 main battle tank: Kornet missile systems as a threat in the Ukraine war?
The Russian armaments manufacturer "Rostec", on the other hand, claims that Russia has long had an anti-tank guided missile that is dangerous to main battle tanks.
According to the state news
agency TASS
, the company said "that German Leopard 2 tanks, which some NATO countries want to deliver to Ukraine, can easily be destroyed by Kornet anti-tank missile systems".
Leopard 2 A6 main battle tank: crew, performance, weight and armament
Commissioning: from March 7, 2001 with the German Armed Forces | Crew: 4 soldiers - commander, driver, gunner and loader |
Power: 1500 hp | Top speed: 68 km/h |
Weight: 60 tons | Consumption: 5 liters of fuel per kilometer |
Armament: 120 mm smoothbore gun, laser rangefinder and thermal imaging device, turret scope, MG3 (51 mm) machine gun | Ammunition: KE (kinetic energy on impact) rounds; MZ Munition (multi-purpose armor-piercing grenade with shaped charge and fragmentation effect) |
Combat distance: up to 4000 meters | Hit probability: up to 90% |
Bundeswehr stock: 290 pieces | Ready for action: 90 pieces (14 go to Ukraine, 8 are stationed in Ukraine on NATO's eastern flank) |
Sources: ZDF's "heute journal", broadcast on February 1, 2023; youtube.com/@Bundeswehr
Combat experience has shown that even outdated man-portable anti-tank missile systems can knock out these tanks, the company said, according to
The Eurasia Times
news portal , citing the
TASS
report.
For classification: The anti-tank weapon "9K135 Kornet" was designed from 1988 shortly before the collapse of the Soviet Union to combat tanks such as the "Leopard 2" or the American "M1 Abrams".
The commissioning took place in 1994, within the framework of the Russian Federation.
Kornet anti-tank guided missile: Installed on Russian Army "GAZ-2975 Tigr".
For example, the Russian Army's GAZ-2975 Tigr all-terrain vehicles can carry this weapon system on the roof.
But it can also be fired by individual soldiers on a kind of tripod.
The standard warhead from a tandem shaped charge is said to be able to penetrate thick armor steel, something western experts have never confirmed.
The German tanks will certainly be knocked out by 125mm Mango shells, regardless of the angle of their hits.
Russian armaments company "Rostec" according to the state agency TASS
According to a report in the liberal Austrian daily
Die Presse
, at the end of 2015 a heavy Russian anti-tank missile "Kornet" (caliber 152 mm) was not able to crack an upgraded Turkish "M60T" in northern Iraq, which was based on a tank developed during the Cold War USA declines.
The press
published a photo of the tank allegedly shot at by the terrorist militia Islamic State (IS).
It was badly damaged on the side, but the military vehicle did not explode or catch fire.
This cannot be verified independently.
A video that is supposed to show the rocket's allegedly ineffective impact is no longer available on the Internet.
According to Rostec, however, the Kornet is not the only missile capable of destroying the Leopard.
125 mm Mango armor-piercing shells and Vikhr and Ataka air-launched missiles are also capable of doing so,
TASS
reports .
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Dangerous for Leopard tanks?
A Kornet-EM long-range multipurpose missile system on a Russian military vehicle.
© IMAGO / ITAR-TASS
Leopard 2 main battle tanks for Ukraine: easy prey for the Russian army?
The explanatory statement states that the "Leopards" would not have explosive reactive armor like Russian tanks, making them vulnerable to the missiles deployed by Russian fighter jets.
“The German tanks will certainly be knocked out by 125mm Mango shells, regardless of the angle of their hits.
A tank is destroyed when a projectile hits its frontal or side armor,” explained Rostec.
This cannot be verified independently either.
On the other hand, one thing is certain: the delivery of the "Leopard" battle tanks also received a great deal of attention in Moscow.
(pm)
