Top Ten Main Battle Tanks #2

     Leopard 2A7 (Germany)

The Leopard 2 is a main battle tank developed by Krauss-Maffei in the early 1970s for the West German Army. The tank first entered service in 1979 and succeeded the earlier Leopard 1 as the main battle tank of the German Army. Various versions have served in the armed forces of Germany and twelve other European countries, as well as several non-European nations. More than 3,480 Leopard 2s have been manufactured. The Leopard 2 first saw combat in Kosovo with the German Army and has also seen action in Afghanistan with the Danish and Canadian contributions to the International Security Assistance Force.

 

Type Main battle tank
Place of origin West Germany
Service history
In service 1979–present
Wars Kosovo War, War in Afghanistan
Production history
Designer Krauss-Maffei
Designed 1970s
Manufacturer Krauss‐Maffei Wegmann
Maschinenbau Kiel
Unit cost 2A6: US$5.74 million (2007)
Produced 1979–present
Specifications
Weight 2A6: 62.3 tonnes (61.3 long tons; 68.7 short tons)
Length 2A6: 9.97 m (393 in) (gun forward)
Width 2A6: 3.75 m (148 in)
Height 2A6: 3.0 m (120 in)
Crew 4
Armour 2A6: 3rd generation composite; including high-hardness steel, tungsten and plastic filler with ceramic component.
Main
armament
1× 120 mm Rheinmetall L55 smoothbore gun (42 rounds)
Secondary
armament
2× 7.62 mm MG3A1 (4,750 rounds)
Engine MTU MB 873 Ka-501 liquid-cooled V-12 Twin-turbo diesel engine
1,500 PS (1,479 hp, 1,103 kW) at 2,600 rpm
Power/weight 24.1 PS/t (17.7 kW/t)
Transmission Renk HSWL 354
Suspension Torsion bar suspension
Fuel capacity 1,200 litres (264 imperial gallons; 317 US gallons)
Operational
range
550 km (340 mi) (internal fuel)
Speed 72 km/h (45 mph)

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