Leopard MBT: Alpha beast finally gets to work after a long slumber (updated 2024)

The original Leopard main battle tank (MBT) was born as an idea and design in the darkest days of the Cold War in the mid-1950s and came to life in the 1960s as the chill between East and West continued. Its successor, Leopard 2, was brought to life in the 1970s with first deliveries just before the decade ended.

It was conceived as a western European MBT which, in one likely scenario, might have to face the massed ranks of Warsaw Pact armour. 

The Cold War may have ended by the early 1990s, but six decades later, the scenario of facing off against Russian T-series MBTs has become a reality with the invasion of Ukraine. More life is now being breathed into the system as Ukraine clamours for the tank and Germany and Norway look to a new series of the vehicle.

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Where the Leopard has served

The Leopard 1 and Leopard 2 have been the most popular choice for NATO members and some other countries, including Indonesia, Singapore and Chile with Australia a former operator, still having inventory. Germany alone has taken delivery of more than 2,000 Leopard 2s.

It has seen active service, most notably in Afghanistan, where it was deployed by several countries including Canada in the early 2000s, but also in Bosnia where Denmark notably used the tanks. Leopards have rarely seen battle and while Ukraine will be using them against Russian forces, at the moment the number in service is in low double digits, despite pressure remaining to increase that number.

The 120mm-armed Leopard 2 was developed in the 1970s as a replacement for the West German Army’s 105mm-gunned Leopard 1s. Deliveries began in 1979 and 2,125 were produced for domestic use. Like the Leopard 1, it has also been a success on the export market, with 15 nations acquiring new or second-hand tanks. The Leopard 2 remains the most widely used MBT among NATO members.

Germany has purchased thousands of Leopard MBTs over the decades. (Photo: Allied Joint Forces Command Naples)

The Leopard 2 is powered by a 1,100kW MTU MB 873 Ka-501 V12 twin turbodiesel coupled to a Renk HSWL 354 transmission. The tank is armed with a 120mm L/44 smoothbore gun, a co-axial 7.62mm MG3A1 machine gun, and a pintle-mounted 7.62 mm MG mounted on the roof and operated by the loader. It can carry 42 120mm and 4,750 7.62mm rounds. Banks of eight 76mm smoke-grenade launchers have been mounted on each side of the turret.

The final batch of new tanks built for Germany were in Leopard 2A4 configuration which featured a digital fire control system and an improved turret with flat titanium/tungsten armour.

All models through the Leopard 2A4 have been characterised by the vertical face of the turret armour. Germany's earlier model Leopard 2s were upgraded to 2A4 configuration which has remained the most widely used model among export customers.

Several users have upgraded early model Leopard 2s to more modern configurations such as the Leopard 2A5 and 2A6. Rheinmetall’s MBT Advanced Technology Demonstrator has been considered a comprehensive modernisation of the Leopard 2A4.

Changing its spots

The Leopard 2A has entered its eighth iteration with Norway and Germany deep into the process of acquiring the variant. More than 1,680 Leopard 2A0/A1/A2/A3/A4 variants have been ordered for export in the past half-century and more than 1,500 have been delivered.

Finland, with 124 of the MBTs, has been among the list of countries that have kept the venerable platform relevant, safe and packing a punch. The Finnish MoD authorised its army to sign a €10 million (US$10.9 million) contract with KMW to upgrade the FCS on Leopard 2A4 and Leopard 2A6 MBTs. The deal would enable the Leopard 2s to fire the Israel Military Industries (now Elbit Systems) M339 HE projectiles ordered in January 2020.

Work to upgrade the Leopard 2s with the new FCS was believed to have commenced in 2022 and would continue until 2026. All of the Leopard 2s in the Finnish inventory have been slated to receive the upgrade.

A list of customers for the Leopard 2A0/A1/A2/A3/A4. (Source: Shephard Defence Insight)

The particular case of Poland

Poland has been working hard on upgrading its 142 Leopard 2A4s to what has been designated as the Leopard 2PL. The upgrade has involved replacing the sights with a new model incorporating advanced KLW-1 Asteria third-generation camera systems, installing additional ballistic protection modules on the turret, adding a digital stabilisation system, modernising fire extinguishing and suppression systems, and adding an auxiliary power unit.

The main gun will also be adapted to fire the DM63 APFSDS round and the DM11 multipurpose round, while a new FCS will be installed.

The first Leopard 2PL was displayed at MSPO 2016 and a number of additional prototypes were delivered to the Polish Army between this debut and the unveiling of the first production-standard tank three years later.

Tests of prototype Leopard 2PLs were completed in early May 2020. The first two serial production tanks were subsequently handed over to the Polish Army later that month. A total of 12 Leopard 2PLs had been delivered by the end of 2020.

The upgrade has proven even more important to Poland in recent times following Russia's 2022 invasion of neighbouring Ukraine. As Poland has looked to boost its heavy fire capability, it requested an additional 44 Leopard 2A4 units from the German government in July 2022 to compensate for T-72 variants transferred to Ukraine.

The German government, however, announced that it was ready to deliver 20 units only. A similar request from Poland to the Swiss government was rejected in June 2022.

A total of 12 Leopard 2PLs had been delivered to the Polish Army by the end of 2020. (Photo: PGZ)

The next generation of Leopards

Germany and Norway have been taking existing Leopard 2 variants and upgrading them to Leopard 2A8 and Italy’s decades-old C1 Ariete MBT, a Leopard variant, has been slated for replacement by Leopard 2A8s.

Italy was originally looking to join the Franco-German Main Ground Combat System (MGCS) programme or forming alternative partnerships with other countries, but a change of direction came in March 2023 when the government considered buying Leopard 2A8s.

MGCS itself took a major step forward in April with a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed outlining industrial responsibilities between France and Germany with an eye to inviting other countries.

German defence minister Boris Pistorius and his French counterpart Sébastien Lecornu signed the MoU which has cleared the way for contract negotiations to decide workshare with the countries equally sharing the cost.

The MGCS programme will be divided into eight pillars: chassis and automated navigation; cannon, turret and ammunition; C4; simulation environment; sensor technology; protection and UV defence; secondary armament; and support, logistics and infrastructure.

The design of MGCS is still being finalised but it will likely be armed with a Nexter 140mm or Rheinmetall 130mm smoothbore gun fed by an automatic loader which will allow the crew of three to be seated in the protected hull.

In July 2023, the Italian Government confirmed it was finalising a $4.5 billion deal for 125 Leopard 2A8s. Requiring approval from the country's parliament, final confirmation had been be expected in the multi-annual defence programming document and a production contract had been expected in early 2024.

As part of the programme, Italy’s Leonardo and Franco-German KNDS, which includes Krauss Maffei Wegmann, will work to improve cooperation with support of the Italian MoD and have signed an agreement to jointly implement the planned Italian Leopard 2A8 MBT procurement programme.

The alliance will support the strategy defined by the Italian MoD in the Documento Programmatico Difesa (Defence Policy Document) 2023–25 and in the Action Plan of the Agreement recently signed by the governments of Italy and Germany.

However Italy's path forward in still in flux.

Speaking in April 2024, Maj Gen Francesco Olla, head of III department (Military Policy and Planning) of the Italian Army said the future of tanks and their design needed to be reconsidered.

Olla warned that current MBTs were “not fit for the future force, tanks are too heavy [and] bridges cannot support the weight, so we need to reduce weight and share combat capability”.

“[This could involve] collaborative combat and uncrewed systems [and they] will be something that we must have,” he said. “It is not an option not to have this.”

Italy is still working out plans to replace its Ariete tanks. (Photo: Italian Army)

In early February 2023, Norway announced it had placed an order for 54 Leopard 2A8 NORs from Germany’s Krauss-Maffei Wegmann.

To be delivered between 2026 and 2031, the contract was within the NOK19.7 billion ($1.8 billion) budget set by Norway's parliament. An option has been built into the contract for a further 18 Leopard 2A8s.

The 2A8 NOR has some additional features compared to the German version, such as the integrated Kongsberg ICS/CORTEX system which can handle data transfer in the MBT and communication with other combat systems.

Germany has been estimated to have demand for approximately 100 new-build Leopard 2s costing $3.4 billion. A contract award will be expected in 2024, with deliveries from 2027 through 2032.

Beyond the Leopard  is the Panther which is based on the Leopard chassis. 

The next-generation Panther KF51 MBT, featuring an open generic digital architecture, took one step closer to production in December after a deal was signed between the Hungarian government and Germany’s Rheinmetall.

The development contract, worth around €288 million (US$315.7 million), under which a demonstrator vehicle will be constructed and qualified, will pave the way to full-scale production.

A Ukrainian soldier in a Leopard tank at the Leopard Training Centre in Świętoszów, Poland. (Photo: NATO)

The Ukraine effect

Russian activity on Ukrainian soil and along the border had been ongoing for more than eight years before the full-blown invasion of early 2022, with massed ranks of armour invading across a European border for the first time in more than seven decades.

Western Europe paid attention by donating billions of dollars worth of ground equipment and ammunition, particularly artillery and MBTs such as Leopards.

Attention turned again to the tank warfare and the speed of upgrading Leopards went up a notch or two with a commitment to bringing the upgrades to life in as short a period of time as possible while keeping a longer-term eye on what may replace the MBTs in the decades to come.

In mid-November 2023 the Swiss government approved the sale of 25 retired Leopard 2 MBTs to Rheinmetall on the condition the specific vehicles will not see service with Ukraine as part of the Swiss government’s effort to maintain clear neutrality.

However, the vehicles are set to be used to replace other tanks supplied to Ukraine in its ongoing war against Russia.

In March it was announced that General Dynamics Europe Land Systems (GDELS) would upgrade 20 mothballed Spanish Army Leopard 2A4s for use by Ukrainian forces.

The Spanish Leopards, stored at Casetas Logistics Center in Zaragoza, will join 10 others already donated by Spain and take the number of Leopards provided to Ukraine by NATO nations, at that time, to close to 75 vehicles.

A number of the delivered Leopards have already been destroyed or abandoned.

This article was originally published on 29 November 2023 and updated on 14 May 2024.

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