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Background
— CF Leased & Purchased Leopard 2A6M / 2A4 Tanks |
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16 Dec 2008 – First 40 Leopard 2A4s arrived by sea in Montreal last week for rebuilds at 202 WD
according to CLS, LGen Andrew Leslie.
02 August 2007 – Krauss Maffei Wegmann press release unveils the first of 20 leased Leopard 2A6M CANs
in slat armour – see
below.
12 April 2007 – official confirmation by the Ministry of National Defence and Ministerie van Defensie of
sale of 100 Leopard 2 A4 /2 A6s.
On 18 May 2007, a 20-year, $650M service contract was announced for the used Leopard 2s, which doubles
the original announced price.
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On 12 April 2007, DND confirmed rumours that Canada would
acquire 'new' Leopard tanks. As reported in Der Spiegel, Canada will first lease 20
mine-protected Leopard 2 A6Ms from Bundeswehr stocks. But the follow-on purchase will not be for
German tanks. Instead, 100 "slightly used" tanks will be supplied by the Dutch
– the order is for 20 Leopard 2 A6s and 80 early Leopard 2 A4s, all refurbished. [1]
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Apparently, the Dutch government swung Canada a better deal than the Germans for the sale.[2]
Thus far, the only figure released ($650M) covers both leased and purchased vehicles. Training and
logistics for five years are also included. Dutch Leopard 2s have a slightly different equipment fit, some
suit us (like machinegun commonality), others will be changed.
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The leased German tanks will be delivered by the summer of 2007 to replace Canadian Leopard C2 tanks in Afghanistan. The leased vehicles will,
in turn, be replaced by 20 former Royal Netherlands Army Leopard 2 A6 tanks which will be
upgraded to 2 A6M mine- protected standards. These (and 80 Leopard 2 A4s) [3] are due to begin arriving
in Canada for training [4] in the Autumn of 2007.
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KMW Leopard
2 A6M / 2 A4 Main Battle Tank – Specifications
| Crew: |
driver, gunner, loader / radio op.,
commander |
Armament:
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Rheinmetall L/55 120mm / L/44 120mm main gun,
42 rounds, main gun range: 3,500 m (11,483 ft) |
Size:
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L x 9.97m / 9.67m (gun fwd.), 7.74 / 7.72m
(hull),
W x 3.74m / 3.54, H x 3.0m / 2.8m (cupola top) |
| Weight: |
Combat weight: 62 tonnes / 55.15 tonnes
[5] |
| Engine/trans: |
1100 kW MTU MB 873. Renk HSWL 354 [6] |
| Max. Speed: |
68 - 72 km/h, off-road 55 km/h, reverse 31 km/h |
| Range: |
500 / 550 km (road cruising), off-road varies |
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Not yet clear is the nature of the CF upgrade. Timing suggests a minimal refurbishment of the Leopard 2
A4s but it is feasible to ‘update’ them to full 2 A6M standard (or 2 A5 short- barrelled but equally
well-protected standards). Indeed, the Dutch 2 A6 fleet began as 2 A5s. The important thing is that all 100 tanks be
the same internally. Leopard 2 A6M armour and belly-plate are simply add-ons.
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On 02 August 2007, Leopard 2 maker KMW announced delivery of “the first of 20 main battle
tanks Leopard 2 A6M CAN to the Canadian Forces”. This press release said that, in the preceding
weeks, “...KMW has readapted those tanks ... to a configuration that meets all requirements for the
current missions [including] the installation of slat armor”. The slat armour came as a surprise
(although the anti-RPG “cages” have been appearing on TLAVs in Afghanistan too). Thus far, only one
photograph of the new 2 A6M CAN configuration has been released (right). Outwardly, slat armour aside, it
seems to be a standard Bundeswehr 2 A6M but on the rear of the turret bustle, is an externally-mounted box.
One 2 A6M CAN has been involved in a serious IED incident.[7]
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[1] Other sources say 40 “Canadianized” Leopard 2 A6 NLs, 40 Leopard 2 A4
NLs for training in Canada, and a mix of Leopard 2-based support vehicles to replace the CF’s
Leopard 1-based Taurus recovery vehicles, Badger engineering vehicles, and Beaver bridgelayers.
[2] There is a highly competitive Leopard 2 resale market. The Dutch had sold Leopard 2 A4s to Norway
(for 1.5 B kroner – about $285 M or $5.5M per vehicle) and Denmark. Germany then undercut the
Netherlands on a sale to Greece. The CF sale may be Holland’s revenge.
[3] The Leopard 2 A4 can be considered the modern ‘base level’ model for Leopard 2s.
Many Dutch 2 A4s were up-armoured to become Leopard 2 A5s. These were then further upgraded (with
long-barrelled L/55 guns and other improvements) to become Leopard 2 A6 NLs.
[4] The report suggests that both types of ex-Dutch tanks – Leopard 2 A6Ms and 2 A4s – will be sent
to Canada. This, presumably, is an error. Leased German A6Ms are being sent directly to Kandahar. It would also make
sense to follow that pattern for refurbished CF 2 A6s.
[5] Some sources give Leopard 2 A6 combat weight as high as 62.5t. Neither figure allows for the additional
weight of the 2 A6M mine kit.
[6] The powerplant is a liquid-cooled 47.6L turbo-charged V-12 multi-fuel MB 873 Ka 501 producing 1,500
hp at 2,600 rpm. Some sources say that the Ka 501 is capable of 1,325 kW (or 1,800 hp) at 2,600 rpm. The
Renk automatic transmission has 4 forward and 4 reverse gears.
[7] The German newspaper, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, is
reportedly saying that a 2 A6M CAN was badly damaged on 02 Nov 2007. Mine protection was said to have worked well
considering the size of the IED but the badly-damaged tank will be purchased, not returned.
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