Turkish Leopards get homemade armour upgrade
Turkish industry is producing an armour upgrade kit for Leopard 2A4s. (Photo: SSB)
A new armour package for Leopard 2A4 turret and hull is in production in Turkey.
Aselsan has begun ‘mass production’ of an armour upgrade kit for Leopard 2A4 main battle tanks in service with the Turkish Land Forces, according to Ismail Demir, head of the Turkish Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB).
The armour package was designed at the Roketsan Ballistic Protection Center, Demir added in a 6 June statement on social media.
He declared: ‘Developed in different configurations for turret and hull compartments according to threat analysis, the armour package still has the most effective ballistic protection used in Leopard 2A4 tanks in the world’s armies.’
Demir did not disclose the timeframe for rolling out the armour upgrade.
There are 344 Leopard 2A4s in the Turkish Land Forces inventory, according to Shephard Defence Insight. The tank features flat titanium-tungsten armour as standard.
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