According to information by the German Newspaper "Der Spiegel" on January 21, 2023, Germany could deliver 19 Leopard 2A5 Main Battle Tanks to Ukraine which are now used by the German army at a training center.
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German army Leopard 2A5 Main Battle Tank MBT. (Picture source Army Recognition)
Currently, Germany had a total of 245 Main Battle Tanks (MBTs) including 225 Leopard 2A5 and 2A6, 19 Leopard 2A7, an undisclosed number of Leopard 2A7V, and 78 Leopard 24A in store. It seems that the 19 Leopard 2A5 tanks used by the training center are not part of the operational tank fleet of the German armed forces.
In the case of the delivery of Leopard 2A5 to the Ukrainian armed forces, it will offer more combat capabilities than Soviet-made T-64, T-72, and T-80 tanks currently in service with the Ukrainian army.
The Leopard 2A5 is a main battle tank produced by Germany. It has several advantages over Russian tanks, such as superior armor protection, a more powerful and efficient engine, and a more advanced fire control system. The Leopard 2A5 also has a lower profile and a more streamlined design, which makes it more difficult to detect and hit. Additionally, the Leopard 2A5 is equipped with a 120mm smoothbore gun, which has a longer range and greater firepower than the guns typically found on Russian tanks.
In the early 2000s, the Dutch army deployed Leopard 2 tanks to Afghanistan as part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). The tanks were used in a number of engagements against Taliban fighters but were not heavily damaged or destroyed.
In 2015, Turkish Leopard 2A4 tanks were used in combat against ISIS in Syria, but they were later withdrawn.
German Leopard tanks have not been used in combat against Russian tanks, and it would be interesting to observe their performance if they were to be deployed in a conflict against Russian tanks in the future, such as in the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
In general, the Leopard 2 has a good combat record and has been praised for its protection and firepower. However, it has not been widely used in combat and its actual performance is hard to evaluate.
The Leopard 2A5 is an upgraded version of the Leopard 2A4 tank and features several improvements over the earlier model. The tank is fitted with enhanced armor protection, including the addition of modular armor panels and an improved armor layout. The turret and hull of the tank are made of high-hardness steel, which provides protection against armor-piercing and high-explosive rounds.
The Leopard 2A5 is armed with a 120mm smoothbore gun, which is capable of firing a variety of different types of ammunition, including Armor-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot (APFSDS) rounds, which are designed to penetrate the armor of other tanks and other heavily-armored targets. As well as High-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) rounds able to defeat armored targets and High-explosive (HE) rounds used to destroy soft targets like buildings and infantry.
The effective range of the 120mm smoothbore cannon on the Leopard 2A5 is around 2,500 meters for armor-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot (APFSDS) rounds, which are primarily used to engage other tanks. The maximum range of the cannon, with the right type of ammunition, is around 4,000 meters. However, the range of the cannon can be affected by environmental conditions such as wind and temperature, and the accuracy of the cannon decreases as the range increases. The crew training and the quality of the fire control system also play a role in the cannon range.
