Spain plans to send 4-6 German-made Leopard 2A4 tanks to Ukraine in the near future
The information was published by El Pais newspaper on February 1, 2023
These tanks will be taken from the military inventory of the Spanish armed forces
The Spanish Army currently operates 108 Leopard 2A4s, in addition to 219 more advanced Leopard 2Es, a Leopard 2A6 variant for the Spanish Army
Citing a Spanish government official, the newspaper said that the number of tanks Spain supplies to Ukraine
will depend on the status of Leopard 2A4 tanks in this country's stockpile
as well as the number of combat vehicles that other countries will send to Ukraine.
This month, a series of Western countries pledged to provide main battle tanks to help Ukraine confront Russia
This comes as Moscow is trying to gain advantages in eastern Ukraine.
The Leopard 2А4 is the most popular version of the Leopard 2 family, produced from 1985 to 1987
The tank underwent a major modernization and received significant changes at that time
a dramatic improvement in the armor protection of the turret, additional measures were taken to increase the survival of the crew
and a new fire control system was also installed
Due to the increase in the level of armor protection, the weight of the tank increased to 55 tons
Leopard 2А4 is equipped with a Rh-120 Rheinmetall 120mm 44-caliber long smoothbore gun
The main armament of German tanks are the DM43 armor-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot
and the DM12 high-explosive anti-tank rounds.
The Leopard 2 is equipped with MG 3 machine guns mounted coaxially. Another MG3 is in the turret mount above the loader’s hatch
The tank is equipped with thermal imaging and infrared night vision sights
The commander has the PERI-R-12 panoramic periscope sight with a stabilizer.
The tank commander can independently point the gun in case of failure of the gunner
are ready to supply Leopard 2 MBTs to Ukraine from their military inventories
The tank has excellent maneuverability, powered by a powerful 1,500 hp MTU MB 873 Ka-501 Diesel engine
which allows it to reach a maximum road speed of up to 72 km/h, and about 45 km/h on all terrain
The range of the Leopard 2A4 is about 550 km on the road
In addition, Leopard 2A4 is also equipped with advanced hydraulic and suspension systems to improve off-road ability.