The Daily Populous Friday December 27th, 2024 morning edition
Authored by forbes.com and submitted by eaglemaxie

A Ukrainian Leopard 1A5 in training. Via Militaryland

It took German industry an eyebrow-raising 19 months to refurbish and deliver the first 58 of at least 155 Leopard 1A5 tanks a German-led consortium has pledged to Ukraine. But the three-country consortium—Germany, The Netherlands and Belgium—has apparently resolved parts shortages and is finally picking up the pace.

Since those first 58 Leopard 1A5s arrived through early September, an additional 45 of the 1980s-vintage tanks have shipped.

The delivery schedule matters. The four-person Leopard 1A5 is set to become the most numerous Western-made tank in Ukraine, outnumbering the 104 newer German-made Leopard 2s, 80 American-made M-1s and paltry 14 British-made Challenger 2s.

Moreover, the Ukrainian general staff has already assigned the Challenger 2s, M-1s and Leopard 2s to their respective brigades. The Leopard 1s are the only Western tanks that are available to equip the dozen or so new heavy brigades the Ukrainians have formed in recent months. A Ukrainian mechanized brigade typically has a single tank battalion with 31 tanks.

Berlin announced the delivery of the most recent batch of 15 Leopard 1s on Monday. Along with the tanks, the Germans shipped armored trucks, artillery, air-defense equipment and substantial quantities of ammunition—adding to the nearly 7 billion Euros in aid Germany has sent to Ukraine since Russia widened its war on the country 34 months ago.

The 1980s-vintage, 40-ton Leopard 1 isn’t a new tank, but neither is it the oldest tank in the Ukrainian inventory. And while it’s light—and lightly armored—compared to, say, a 69-ton M-1, it boasts a reliable 105-millimeter main gun and an accurate EMES-18 fire-control system. The Ukrainians have done their best to mitigate the type’s greatest flaw, its thin armor, by adding blocks of reactive armor and anti-drone netting.

The additions appear to be helping. Of the 58 Leopard 1s the Ukrainians received between July 2023 and early September, just six have been confirmed destroyed. At the same time, it’s apparent the Ukrainians have been reluctant to send the Leopard 1s to the most dangerous sectors of the front. For recent local counterattacks in Kursk Oblast in western Russia, Ukrainian brigades rounded up their few surviving M-1s and Leopard 2A6s.

The Leopard 1 crews have expressed confidence in their German-made mounts, flaws and all. To reduce the risk of 105-millimeter rounds cooking off in the turret after an enemy hit, Leopard 1 crews stow only a few of the tank’s 42 rounds in the turret: the rest are tucked into the hull. To reload, the tank “must roll back to a safe location,” one loader explained to a Ukrainian journalist. “This takes time.”

Still, the loader said he felt “great” about crewing a Leopard 1. That’s fortunate, as he’ll soon have a lot of company in Ukraine’s growing Leopard 1 corps.

66stang351 on December 26th, 2024 at 21:26 UTC »

They're very useful in areas where the Russians haven't had years to entrench. It's why you saw more Abrams in active combat (and doing so proficiently) in kursk than the previous year.

And if they ever do achieve a breakthrough, having a few hundred ready to go will be key.

xdeltax97 on December 26th, 2024 at 21:24 UTC »

“And so we have the German Leopard migrating to the plains of Ukraine in search of its prey during mating season. Its prime candidates for a meal are the Russian tank and BTR!”

Bitter_Split5508 on December 26th, 2024 at 21:12 UTC »

Ah, the armchair general "tanks are useless hur dur" brigade is out in full force again.

These actually make a difference. It's mobile firepower, no matter what shape it takes, that's crucial in a war of attrition.