With the war in Ukraine heating up, it looks as if Europe will finally be giving Ukraine
the tanks it wants.
But does this mean the Leopard 2 could end up going toe to toe with Russia's latest and
greates, the T-14 Armata?
And who would win if they did?
One of the points being brought up in various circles due to the war in Ukraine is the relevancy
of tanks on a modern battlefield.
Once, these fearsome machines ruled all the battlefield, but as the Ukrainian armed forces
have proven thanks to western anti-tank weapons, even the best tanks in the world are extremely
vulnerable to simple infantry.
Does that mean the tank is obsolete?
Not quite, all it means is that tanks require more infantry support than ever before.
And when it comes to destroying threats, nothing can stand up to the power of a tank.
In short, in a fight you don't really need a tank until you need a tank, because nothing
else is going to get the job done like a tank.
Germany seems likely to allow for the export of its Leopard 2s to Ukraine in response to
the nation's request for heavy combat systems.
With unverified reports of a small number of T-14 tanks crossing the border into Ukraine,
this means that it's possible the Leopard will finally meet Russia's best in battle.
If this happens we will finally see if the claims made about both tanks are true or just
pure propaganda.
The Leopard 2 entered development in the 1970s in response to improvements in Soviet armor
design.
Given that West Germany would be ground zero- figuratively and quite literally- for any
war between NATO and the Soviet bloc, the Germans were very invested in developing the
best battle tank they possibly could.
And they did not miss the mark, with the Leopard 2, an upgrade over the Leopard 1, immediately
becoming one of the best tanks in the world and a complete overmatch against its Soviet
opponents.
Originally West Germany cooperated with the United States in developing the MBT-70.
The US does a lot of things right when it comes to military hardware, but it's never
truly been at the top of the class when it comes to tanks.
Plus, both nations had completely different requirements for a main battle tank, and when
coupled with communications problems between the two design bureaus, the project was doomed
to failure.
West Germany pulled out of the program as costs piled up and the US would pursue it
alone, until eventually scrapping it and using the lessons it learned for the M1 Abrams.
Instead, the German government looked at ways of upgrading the Leopard 1, with Porsche taking
the lead in the effort.
A study named Gilded Leopard concluded that multiple advanced technologies could be incorporated
into the Leopard 1 design, with the new tank featuring an autoloader which would allow
the use of heavier rounds, a coaxial autocannon, and an independent commander's periscope for
situational awareness.
Further improvements included a tv surveillance camera that could be extended on a mast as
well as improvements to the engine, armor, and transmission.
One of the biggest changes the Germans implemented was the switch from a 105mm gun to a 120mm
gun.
This was in response to developments in Soviet armor, and it prompted the Americans to do
a similar switch with their XM1- the prototype of the Abrams.
In 1976, the West Germans sent a Leopard 2 prototype to the US for inspection by American
engineers.
In comparison with the XM1, it was discovered that the two vehicles were comparable in firepower
and mobility, but the XM1 had superior armor protection.
However, this was only in relation to explosive charges, against a kinetic energy penetrator
the Leopard 2 was nearly twice as well protected.
The Leopard's engine was also more reliable, used less fuel, and had a smaller heat signature,
but produced more noise.
The engine also allowed the Leopard 2 to be quickly started up and shut down, as opposed
to the XM1 which had a lengthy startup process and thus would be forced to idle during short
pauses in combat.
The Leopard 2 went into production shortly after the American tests, albeit with improved
armor.
Today the latest Leopard 2 enjoys decades of upgrades, with additional armor on the
front of the turret, the hull itself, and the side skirts.
Figures are classified, but it's estimated that the Leopard 2 has equivalent protection
to 1840 to 2920 millimeters of armor versus kinetic energy projectiles, and 2,780 to 4370
millimeters of armor versus chemical explosive rounds.
The Leopard 2A6 improves on this protection, with protection equivalent to 5,890mm to 7,800mms
of armor versus kinetic penetrators, and 9,000 to 11,500 mms versus chemical explosive rounds.
Improvements to the belly armor also affords it additional protection from enemy mines
and IEDs, lessons learned from the conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Spall liners inside the hull protect the crew from the deadly effects of spalling, which
happens when a projectile hits armor and does not penetrate it, but instead causes it to
fracture on the inside sending razor sharp shards of metal bouncing around the interior
of the tank.
This can kill the crew while leaving the tank largely undamaged.
The use of slat armor and active protection measures also increase survivability against
rocket propelled grenades and anti-tank missiles.
The interior of the Leopard 2 can be sealed, with the vehicle giving its crew 12 hours
of life support.
This allows the tank to operate on a nuclear battlefield.
An automatic firefighting system triggers when the interior temperature rises above
180 degrees (82 c), but can also be triggered via the driver.
Tanks are nothing without a gun, and here the Leopard 2 shines.
It features the Rheinmetall 120mm smoothbore gun, with 27 rounds of ammunition.
The tank also stores 15 additional rounds on the left side of the turret bustle, and
can be accessed via a secure door.
A blow-off panel allows the ammunition to safely cook off without incinerating the crew,
a feature overlooked in most Russian tanks.
The Leopard 2 fires a variety of rounds, including the German DM33 discarding sabot anti-tank
round which can penetrate 960 mm of steel armor at a range of 2,000 meters.
The new L55 cannon being fitted on upgraded Leopard 2s has a longer barrel, and Germany
has fielded an improved round which takes advantage of the bigger barrel with improved
penetration.
The new barrel can also potentially fire the LAHAT anti-tank guided missile directly through
the main gun, a feature found on some Russian tanks as well.
The Leopard 2 builds on an excellent tank and improves it over time with various upgrade
packages, but the T-14 is built from scratch to house new technologies- could this be the
game winning advantage?
The T-14 was born from the cancellation of the T-95 in 2010.
Deciding that a brand new tank was needed to meet and exceed NATO threats, the T-14
was a revolutionary leap in tank design.
Truly, this is a tank for the digital age.
The T-14 immediately differs from the Leopard 2 by placing its crew of 3 inside an armored
capsule in the hull itself.
While in the Leopard the commander sits in the turret, in the T-14 the crew all sit together
side by side, leaving the turret completely unmanned and controlled remotely.
This is already a significant improvement over the Leopard 2 as it reduces the vulnerability
of the commander.
The tank's armor is made of a brand new steel developed by Russian scientists and given
the codename 44s-sv-sh.
This steel allegedly has extremely high durability and is able to withstand extreme temperatures
without deformation.
It also has the added advantage of being 15% lighter than the steel used in previous tank
models.
The hull is also covered with a new composite armor that includes a classified ceramic layer-
but the most revolutionary feature is the inclusion of explosive reactive armor into
the base design itself rather than being added on later in the form of bricks.
The Malachit dual-explosive reactive armor protects the front, sides, and top from RPGs
and anti-tank missiles.
Modern tanks need active protection measure though, and the T-14 features the Afghanit
active protection system.
APS comes in two forms: hard and soft kill versions.
Hard kill systems try to destroy or deform incoming munition with their own, while soft
kill systems try to interfere with the guidance or electronics of an incoming munition such
as with laser dazzlers.
The Afghanit system incorporates both, a world first, and uses millimeter wave radar to target
both incoming kinetic energey penetrators and tandem-charge weapons such as the American
Javelin.
While the system allegedly protects the tank on all sides, it’s not able to intercept
top-attack munitions like the American Javelin.
Independent analysis believes that the system works with four sensor panels mounted on each
of the tank's sides, with a possible fifth on the turret.
These hide an active electronically scanned array radar which tracks incoming projectiles.
The system is able to destroy projectiles such as artillery shells or unguided rockets,
while using its soft kill capabilities to interfere with the guidance system of anti-tank
guided missiles.
The system is believed to be effective against any modern 3rd and 4th generation anti-tank
system, while the Russians claim that it can even protect from depleted uranium kinetic
penetrators such as those used by American tanks.
This is a claim met with much skepticism, mostly because it was said by a Russian official,
but also because the active protection system's fragmentation charge would be easily pushed
out of the way by an ultradense projectile traveling many times faster than the speed
of sound.
At best it could push it slightly off course, which just means it would ruin the tank's
day in a slightly different area than what was being aimed at.
The Russian MOD, which as we have found out totally never lies, claims that the system
has successfully defeated uranium projectiles traveling at 2 km/s, but this has not been
independently verified.
The tank's manufacturer has also claimed that the T-14 is invisible to radar and infrared
detection due to the use of radar absorbing paint and the placement of heat-generating
components deep within the hull itself.
The shape of the turret also helps it reduce its radar and thermal heat signature, in essence
making the Armata a stealthy vehicle.
Both Russian and American experts have called BS on these claims, mostly because a Russian
official said it, and because Russia has not fielded a single truly stealth platform to
date.
If Russia had developed a wonder radar-defeating paint then its pilots wouldn't be terrified
of flying their planes on the front lines in Ukraine.
The tank is equipped with a 125mm smoothbore cannon, allowing it to fire the Vacuum-1 discarding
sabot fin stabilized round.
Details remain classified, but this 900mm long projectile is believed to use depleted
uranium and can penetrate 1,000mm of armor at 2,000 meters.
Following Russian tradition, the cannon can also fire the 9M119M1 Invar-M anti-tank guided
missile, with a range of up to 5km, and can even use the new 3UBK21 Sprinter ATGM, with
a range increase of up to 12 km.
So which tank would win in a one on one fight?
We've given the T-14 a lot of crap in the past, and with good reason.
The tank broke down during rehearsals for the 2015 Moscow Victory Day parade, and has
yet to enter serial production.
The Russians have a rich history of allowing their mouths to write checks their defense
budget can't cash- or just outright lying about capabilities.
However, the T-14 is considered by many foreign experts as the real deal.
Russia has historically known that it would need to win any war it fought against NATO
on the ground, as it's completely outmatched both in the air and at sea.
The T-14 is a revolutionary tank, built for future wars, and the inclusion of an automated
turret and an armored crew capsule is an obvious advantage over the Leopard 2.
Both tanks are exceptionally well protected against chemical explosive rounds, the real
question is how they perform against modern kinetic threats.
The T-14 is at an advantage here, having been designed from the ground up with an armored
crew capsule.
Remote control technology allows the tank to operate without the commander being exposed
and vulnerable in the turret further increasing survivability.
The Leopard 2's age is also a factor here, as the tank was not designed with the modern
threat environment in mind while the T-14 was.
From the side, the Leopard is likely to have less survivability than the T-14.
However, only the German government and some foreign buyers are privy to the capabilities
of new armor upgrade packages, so it's impossible to tell just how well the Leopard would fare
against the very intimidating Vacuum-1 and Vacuum-2 rounds.
Rheinmetall claims that its armor can defeat up to 1 meter long kinetic energy projectiles,
but again, this remains untested in combat.
The refusal by the German government to use depleted uranium kinetic penetrators is also
a major issue here when facing modern tank armor.
While current tungsten penetrators are more than capable of doing the job, it does hint
that the Leopard 2's maximum engagement distance against the T-14 is going to be well under
what is advertised.
Given that the bulk of these two tanks systems remain highly classified, it's almost impossible
to have a realistic discussion on which tank would beat which.
However, we do know that generally the west enjoys better electronics than the Russians,
which means the Leopard 2 would likely see the T-14 first- tall tales from the manufacturer
of being invisible to thermal imaging aside.
The Leopard 2 probably also has a better fire control system, allowing for more accurate
shooting on the move.
Ultimately, it does seem as if the Leopard 2 is not quite as optimized to defeat kinetic
energy threats as the T-14, which gives the T-14 an advantage.
However, we can be pretty confident in the claims of the Leopard 2's capabilities given
that the tank has seen huge success in the export market, meaning that the rest of Europe
is pretty vigorously testing these claims.
Regarding the T-14 we only have the Russian's word on it, and as we've mentioned previously
Russian officials lie as often and easily as they breathe.
So who would win in a fight between the Leopard 2 and the T-14 Armata?
Well, right now the Leopard 2 would absolutely crush the T-14- mostly because there's over
2,000 of it in army stocks across Europe, while there's an estimated 14 or so T-14 Armatas
in existence.
If Russian claims about the tank are true however, the Leopard may find itself in a
slightly uphill battle against the T-14 in a one on one engagement.
Now go check out why putin is scared to deploy the T-14 Armata tank in Ukraine, or click
this other video instead!