Leopard tanks to get major upgrades – market boosted by Ukraine War

The year 2023 is turning out to be the heyday for the Leopard tank.

The war in Ukraine has focused the attention of western nations on the value of the tank, in particular the Leopard. That armoured vehicle is becoming the symbol of NATO support for the besieged country as allied nations prepare to donate large numbers of Leopard 1s and 2s.

On Feb. 7, Germany approved an export license for industry-owned Leopard 1 A5 tanks to Ukraine. Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark announced they would pay for the preparation of “at least” 100 Leopard 1 variants to be sent to Ukraine’s armed forces.

The tanks, in various stages of condition, are held in storage by German defence firms; one estimate places the number of Leopard 1s in industry hands at around 180.

Germany noted in a statement that the exact number of Leopard 1 tanks that will be sent to Ukraine will depend on the commitment of allied nations.

Up to 25 tanks may arrive in Ukraine by summer

But the German press agency DPA reported that Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger said Feb. 7 that his firm will send the first 20 to 25 tanks to Ukraine sometime this year. DPA noted that Germany’s defence minister Boris Pistorius stated the first tanks would arrive in Ukraine in the summer.

At the same time, NATO nations are eying boosting their own stocks of Leopard 2s.

Norway announced Feb. 3 that it had selected the Leopard 2A7 as its next main battle tank. Norwegian officials were also considering the South Korean K2 Black Panther.

Norway’s Defence Minister Bjørn Arild Gram said the country wants to purchase 54 of the tanks made by Krauss-Maffei Wegmann. The tanks would arrive in 2026. Norway would also consider an option to buy 18 additional Leopards.

Canadian Defence Minister Anita Anand says the federal government will replace the Leopard 2s being sent to Ukraine with a new order of vehicles. But she has yet to provide a timeline on when Leopard 2 replacements would be acquired.

In addition, the Canadian Army’s Leopard tanks are going to be upgraded.

Department of National Defence spokeswoman Jessica Lamirande told Esprit de Corps magazine that a Leopard Long Term Support Contract (LTSC) will establish a partnership with a single In-Service Support contractor. The aim is to provide maintenance and support services for the Leopard 2 fleet until the forecasted end of life of the tanks, currently scheduled for 2035.

“The scope of work will include key services such as maintenance support, major upgrades as required, supply chain management, engineering support and technical support for the Canadian Leopard 2 fleet,” she said.

Contract valued at more than $1 billion

The preliminary estimate of the contract value is between $1 billion and $1.5 billion or approximately $60 million to $88 million per year.

“Canada released an Advanced Contract Award Notice, as a sole source to Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) for the LLTSC, in August 2022,” Lamirande stated. “We expect a contract award by spring 2024.

In June 2022, work valued at $70 million was also contracted to Krauss-Maffei Wegmann, the original equipment manufacturer, to repair, overhaul, and convert all 20 Leopard 2 A6Ms, she said.

These modifications, being completed simultaneously, will help standardize the turret with the configuration of the 2A4M variant.

“Specific components to be converted are the optics, user interface, and fire control components, which are all part of the turret,” Lamirande explained. The analog technology the Leopard 2A6M currently uses for these components is obsolete and replacement parts are no longer available. Repair and overhaul work will be applied as required to the full system of the Leopard 2A6Ms, which includes both the chassis and turret.

The conversion of the first vehicles was conducted in Germany and accepted by Canada in 2022. This is the reference vehicle for the 2A6M variant, and will be used to assess further technical data, and for documentation refinement, Lamirande said.

The work to repair, overhaul and convert the remaining 19 2A6M tanks will begin in spring 2023 in Bathurst, NB at FFG Canada’s facility. “Based on the current timelines, we expect all of the work (the repair, overhaul and conversion) to be completed by the end of 2025.” Lamirande said. This timeline, however, could be subject to change.

Once this work is complete, the Leopard 2 A6Ms will be designated 2 A6M C2 CAN.

Currently the Canadian Army has 82 Leopard 2 Main Battle Tanks in 3 variants: 42 x 2A4; 20 x 2A4M and 20x 2A6M. The Canadian Army also has 30 Leopard 2 Engineer and Recovery Vehicles to provide mobility support to the fighting vehicle fleet.

As NATO nations scrambled to pull together donations of tanks for Ukraine, the Canadian Army faced various claims about the state of service of its Leopard 2s.

DND explains Leopards’ maintenance requirements

National Defence spokesman Dan Le Bouthillier explained the Leopard 2 Main Battle Tanks are complex military vehicles that require regular maintenance and inspections to keep them fully operational. Tank maintenance is similar to aircraft maintenance, and the status of the fleet at any given moment depends on a comprehensive maintenance, repair, and overhaul schedule, which is tied to specific requirements for training or operational employment, he added.

“For operational security reasons we cannot specify how many Leopard 2s are being maintained at any given time or give indication of their maintenance schedule,” he explained.

As a general planning figure, main battle tanks should be expected to spend 30 per cent of their time in maintenance, including scheduled inspection and service periods, the Canadian Army noted.

Some of the rumours swirling in the news media included claims that Leopard 2s were being cannibalized for essential parts to keep other Leopard 2s operating. That isn’t true, according to the Canadian Army.

“The borrowing of working parts from an inoperable vehicle to repair another is a temporary solution that must be authorized by a responsible local commander to meet a specific and urgent requirement,” Le Bouthillier said. “This practice occurs by exception within the Canadian Army and is a temporary measure and not a permanent solution, except when a vehicle fleet has already been identified for divestment in the near future.”

But Le Bouthillier stressed that no Canadian Army Leopard 2 “has been taken out of service to keep other Leopard 2 tanks operable.”

Improving Leopard 2 serviceability has also been a focus for the Army, according to National Defence. The use of contracted technicians, known as Field Service Representatives or FSRs, has increased since 2018, according to the Army. FSRs allow the Canadian Armed Forces to contract expert technicians from the original equipment manufacturer of the Leopard 2 tank to work alongside CAF technicians within Canadian Army facilities across Canada.

The Canadian Army says it has also made changes to the training program for Leopard 2 qualified technicians, as well as the management of those technicians, to ensure that more technicians are available for both routine and surge maintenance in support of specific requirements to employ tanks.

Looking toward successor for tank

In the meantime, Rheinmetall has developed a successor to the Leopard 2.

The KF51 Panther debuted in June 2022 at the Eurosatory international defence exhibition in Paris. Rheinmetall wants the tank ready for production in 2025.

It is developing the tank to be fully digitized with next generation automation. That in turn will allow the size of the crew to be reduced to three and pave the way for unmanned turret options.

The Panther will be armed with the Rheinmetall Future Gun System consisting of a 130 mm cannon, a fully automated ammunition handling system and the additional armament options of the HERO 120 loitering ammunition. The Future Gun System, developed by Rheinmetall, enables a 50 per cent longer kill range to be achieved (than 120 mm) with an exceptional rate of fire due to the autoloader performance. A 12.7 mm co-axial machine gun complements the main gun. Multiple Remote Controlled Weapon Station integration options give flexibility in proximity and drone defence, according to the company.

All weapons are connected with targeting sights and the fire control computer through the fully digitized architecture. The combat weight of 59 tonnes provides far greater mobility than current systems, Rheinmetall points out.

The Panther is designed to control assigned unmanned aerial vehicles such as on-board or off-board drones, loitering ammunition and a range of uncrewed ground vehicles.

The tank will be outfitted with optical sensors providing a 360-degree situational awareness for the crew.

(This article was originally published in the February 2023 issue of Esprit de Corps magazine.)

 

PHOTO: Canadian Forces Leopard tank.
CREDIT: Canadian Armed Forces.