Zaragoza (EFE).- Fifty-five Ukrainian soldiers have completed their training in the handling of Leopard 2 A4 tanks at the San Gregorio de Zaragoza maneuver field, a training period marked by their motivation and desire to return to the front to be able to contribute to the defense of his country.
There are 40 soldiers who have learned to crew the tanks (ten crews of four members with a tank leader, driver, loader and shooter) and 15 technical specialists (5 mechanics, 5 electronics and 5 weapons specialists). Four weeks have passed at the Zaragoza maneuvering ground, with intense work shifts, from eight to eight except Saturday afternoons.
From 21 to 60 years old with front line experience
Captain Contreras, head of the training module for Ukrainian personnel from the 10th Alcántara Cavalry Regiment in Melilla, explained to the media on Monday that all the people who have participated in the training, all men, are soldiers, some of them in the reserve, between 21 and 60 years old, but with experience in the front line of combat.
Although at first the team in charge of training these soldiers in Zaragoza did not know what skills they had, they soon discovered that all of them had experience in mechanized armored vehicles. That has made things “a lot” easier and has helped them acquire training and now travel to Ukraine “with a very acceptable knowledge” of the Leopard 2 A4.
The main difference with the cars that the Ukrainian troops drive is that in the Leopard 2 A4 a loader crew member joins, while in those of the Ukrainian army it is automatic.
The instruction has been eminently practical, both in simulators and in the field of maneuvers with these cars, ten in total, six of them from Zaragoza and another four from Toledo.
This Monday they are participating in a tactical exercise at the San Gregorio maneuver field that will last until around one o’clock in the morning in which they will carry out different attack actions on fictitious positions in which the Zaragoza Enemy Unit also intervenes, essential for simulating exercises realistically.
Good spirits, motivation and desire to return to the front
According to Captain Contreras, the soldiers are in “surprisingly good” spirits and despite having been directly involved in the conflict, they are very motivated and eager to learn and “very eager to once again contribute to the defense of their country,” while Their Spanish instructors are “proud” of having been able to contribute to this mission and help them make things work out “as well as possible within the conflict.”
The soldiers, who arrived in Zaragoza on February 13, are scheduled to leave this Wednesday, March 15, for Poland.
Once there, aware that the Leopard car is “certainly superior” to the ones they have, with a range of about 4 kilometers or thermal cameras, for which they have been “very happy and satisfied”, they will wait to be called to the field of operations, said the captain, who has affirmed that the perception they have of the war is that “it is going well, but it could go better”.
The Leopard management and maintenance courses were launched after the Spanish commitment was formalized to contribute to the Ukrainian defensive effort with the contribution of several of these tanks and some one hundred people have participated in them – the 55 Ukrainian soldiers plus thirty of members of the 10th Alcántara Cavalry Regiment of Melilla and interpreters.
One of the most modern cars in the world
Now, the Ukrainian personnel are already capable of managing the operating systems of the combat vehicle and carrying out maintenance tasks on the different mechanical and electronic components.
The Leopard 2 A4 battle tank dates from the end of the 20th century and has been the basis for the development of one of the most modern and effective battle tanks used by Western countries, the Leopard 2 A6.
The Leopard 4 provided by Spain exceeds most of the tanks currently deployed in the conflict zone and the Leopard 6 provided by Germany is on a par with the most advanced Russian media, according to the Ministry of Defense.