Spain hands over new batch of Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine – Ministry of Defense

Spain has started transferring a new batch of military aid to Ukraine. This package includes 10 Leopard 2A4 battle tanks, several excavators, and a large number of anti-tank missiles.

This was reported by the press service of the Spanish Ministry of Defense. The tanks are expected to arrive at the Polish port by next weekend.

"The multimodal transportation of 10 Leopard 2A4 battle tanks to Ukraine has begun, which have undergone the process of repair, adjustment, and readiness at the Santa Bárbara Sistemas plant in Alcalá de Guadaira, as well as appropriate tests to verify their full performance," the statement said.

The ministry said that after the new batch arrives in Poland, it will be safely transported by land to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

"The Armed Forces of Ukraine will be responsible for the last stage of transportation through the territory of Ukraine before it is made available to the operational units of the Ukrainian army," the statement said.

It is also noted that with the new batch of Leopard 2A4 tanks, Spain has handed over a total of 20 such tanks to Ukraine and plans to prepare or send another set in the second half of 2024.

Leopard 2A4 tanks

The Leopard 2 is a third-generation German main battle tank. The first tanks in the A4 version were produced at KraussMaffei in December 1985. A total of four batches of Leopard 2A4s, consisting of 695 vehicles, were ordered during production, making this model the most common in the Leopard 2 family.

The Leopard 2A4 has already been fitted with Zeiss thermal imaging sights, a fully digital fire control system, a new turret with tungsten and titanium armor, and new types of ammunition. Rheinmetall's 44-caliber Rh-120 smoothbore gun mounted on the Leopard 2A4 can penetrate up to 560 mm of tank armor at a distance of 2 km. For comparison, the Russian T-72B3 has a frontal armor of 530 mm.

Regarding the range of target destruction, it is noted that the Leopard 2 is capable of effective fire at a distance of up to 5 km while driving off-road.

Characteristics of the Leopard 2A4 tank:

Crew – 4 people.

Engine – turbo diesel with a capacity of 1500 hp.

Gun – 120 mm, barrel length – 44 caliber.

Weight – 55 tons.

Top speed – 68 km/h.

Reversing speed is up to 31 km/h.

In March, it was reported that the Spanish government announced its intention to provide the Ukrainian Defense Forces with another 20 Leopard 2A4 tanks. Earlier, Madrid had already provided the Ukrainian army with 10 units of this military equipment.

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