International Writing (EFE) – The modern Leopard and Challeneger tanks from various European countries and Canada are a key tool with which Ukraine, which has already received the first units, will reinforce its army and through which it hopes to intensify the planning of its counteroffensive.
A dozen countries have begun to send to Ukraine – or will do so in the near future – Leopard 2 tanks, a total of around 150, to which are added the Challenger 2 supplied by the United Kingdom, and the American Abrams, which could arrive on next fall.
The Leopard 2, the jewel of European combat tanks
With a line-of-battle weight of 62 tons, a top speed of 70 km/h and a range of 350 km, the Leopard 2 is a German-made armored battle tank developed from a project with the United States.
The idea was to build a tank that combined mobility with protection and combat capability. The result was the Leopard 2 in Germany and the Abrams in the United States, two of the most advanced main battle tanks in the world.
As for its armament, the German tank is equipped with a Rheinmetall Rh-120 120 mm cannon. and two machine guns. It also has the ability to cross flooded areas and rivers up to 4 meters deep and has a periscope.
The Kraus-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) concern has been producing the Leopard 2 in series since 1978, in various variants according to customer needs, and some improvements have been made since then. Around 3,600 copies have come out of the factories of the German consortium.
The German army came to have 2,125 but from 1990 it began to reduce its stock until it reached the 328 it currently has. Some of these vehicles arrived in Spain in 1998 under a leasing agreement that finally materialized as a purchase.
Challenger, the main battle tank of the British Army
The Challenger 2 is the main battle tank in service with the British Army and the Royal Army of Oman. Although its primary role is to destroy or neutralize armor, the Challenger 2 can operate across the spectrum of high-intensity conflict.
Manufactured since the 1970s in the United Kingdom, the Challenger armored vehicles have a combat weight of 75 tons, a maximum speed of 59 km/h, a range of 550 km and four crew members.
The vehicle is equipped with a 120mm L30 tank gun, capable of firing both long-rod penetrators (a type of ammunition designed to penetrate vehicle armor) and High Explosive Squash Head (HESH) ammunition. .
Secondary armament includes a coaxial 7.62mm chain gun and a pintle-mounted 7.62mm general purpose machine gun.
In May 2021, the British Ministry of Defense awarded a contract to modernize 148 Challenger 2 main battle tanks for the British Army.
The modernized vehicle, to be named Challenger 3, will be a digital and networked main battle tank with cutting-edge lethality, improved survivability, and enhanced surveillance and target acquisition capabilities.
Change in the course of the war?
Pending the US Abrams tanks, the arrival of the Leopard 2 and Challenger main battle tanks will increase the Ukrainian firepower and could make the difference in the expected spring campaign.
In a military conflict characterized by attacks on the ground, the combination of artillery, both guns and mortars, and infantry, supported by a powerful armored force, can be decisive in overcoming the Russian defense lines.
A possibility that has not gone unnoticed by the Russian authorities, who have once again put the nuclear letter on the table due to the lack of progress on the Ukrainian front during the winter campaign and in an attempt to force the West to resign, in the long term. , to arm the enemy army.
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