More and more Leopards are being provided for Ukraine: Forbes explains the reason for Germany's increased activity

More and more Leopards are being provided for Ukraine: Forbes explained the reason for Germany's increased activity Margarita Voloshina

Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium have begun to increase the pace of providing armored vehicles to the Defense Forces. In a year and a half, Germany was able to send Ukraine about 100 of the 155 promised Leopard 1 A5 tanks.

First, it was necessary to repair the equipment from the 1980s, and now the problem of a shortage of spare parts has probably been solved. This is reported by 24 Channel with reference to Forbes.

What is known about the increase in the provision of Leopard

It is noted that the German industry repaired and delivered the Leopard 1 A5, previously promised to Ukraine, in 19 months. The publication will recall that the first 58 tanks arrived from July 2023 to early September 2024. In addition, another 45 tanks have been delivered over the past few months.

It is noted that such a delivery schedule is significant. From now on, the four-seater, 40-ton Leopard 1 A5 is set to become the most numerous Western-made tank in Ukraine, surpassing the 104 new German Leopard 2s, 80 American M1 Abrams and 14 British Challenger 2s.

According to the information released, the Leopard 1 A5s are the only Western tanks available to equip Ukraine's roughly ten new heavy brigades, each of which typically has 31 vehicles in a single tank battalion. And although the Leopard 1 A5 is not a new tank, it is not the oldest in Ukraine either.

It is light and has light armor compared to, say, the 69-ton M1 Abrams, but it boasts a reliable 105-mm main gun and an accurate EMES-18 fire control system. And the Ukrainians have made every effort to eliminate the tank's biggest drawback – thin armor – by adding dynamic armor blocks and anti-drone nets, the article says.

According to him, this is very effective, since only six of the first 58 tanks were confirmed destroyed. Although it is also obvious that the brigades do not send this equipment to the most dangerous parts of the front. However, it is reported that the defenders admit that they feel “great” in the Leopard 1A5 crew.

Recall that in addition, on December 23, the German government announced a new aid package for Ukraine, which will include 15 Leopard 1 A5 tanks, IRIS-T systems, Gepard mounts, Patriot launchers, TRML-4D radars and various ammunition.