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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