Leopard 2 tank

Subject: Science and Technology

Section :Defence

Context: Germany has not decided whether to allow its Leopard 2 tanks to be sent to Ukraine.

What is a Leopard 2 tank?

The Leopard 2 is a 3rd generation main battle tank originally developed by Krauss-Maffei in the 1970s for the West German army.
The tank entered service in 1979 and succeeded the earlier Leopard 1 as the main battle tank of the West German Army.
It is armed with a 120 mm smoothbore cannon made by Rheinmetall, and is powered by a V-12 twin-turbo diesel engine made by MTU Friedrichshafen.
It features night-vision equipment and a laser range finder that can measure the distance to an object.
It is also used by the other European armies, Canada and Indonesia.
It has seen service in conflicts in Afghanistan, Kosovo and Syria.

How will it help Ukraine?

Supplies of the Leopard 2 would help offset Russia’s superiority in artillery firepower.

Why does Germany have to approve the transfer of Leopards owned by other countries?

The re-exporting of German-made tanks without Berlin’s permission would be illegal.
The contracts that a country signs to obtain weapons from German manufacturers or German military stocks require them to request a re-export license from the federal government should they wish to send such weapons to another country.
The United States has similar requirements, as do other countries, including Switzerland.

Other tanks offered to Ukraine include:

Challenger 2 tanks of Britain
Stryker combat vehicle by USA
M1 Abrams tanks by the USA (though the USA has made no commitment to providing them to Ukraine).