Canada's purchase of the Leopard 2 MBT

[George Wallace]

This started out so informative, and now everyone is starting to twist all the facts that were originally posted.  That or they just aren't bothering to read the posts....... : 

 

[Retired AF Guy]

I had posted some links but realized that someone had already beat me to the punch, so I' removing them. However, I did get a chance to update the Leo 2 article in wikipedia.

 

[Lance Wiebe]

This is great news for the Corps.

I hope that the post about the mix of 2A4's and 2A6's is wrong.  The two tanks have many differences, the primary difference being the PERI sight on the 2A6.  We would require FCS trained on two different systems, different parts and a conversion course would have to be taught on personnel trained on the A4 before they could go to the A6.

However, if that is indeed the case, we would make it work.  I simply hope that all 80 tanks are of the A6 variant.

 

[Mourning]

Hey good news. Hope you guys like them as much as we do  .

Main difference with the German Leopard 2 versions are a different MG, different radio sets and different smoke-dischargers.

Never heard any complaints from people I know who have operated them from years and I remember our teams winning several NATO shooting contests, yes, also against Abrams.

We all shifted to the Leopard 2 A6 variant a few years ago. Main improvement is the new L55 gun which needs a little better maintenance but armour penetration is superb, but the original 120mm is a really good gun too. This is the first time CF's use the 120mm tank gun at all, right? IF so, let's just say your firepower and range of your tankfleet improved a lot aswell as the protection capabilities of your forces.

Like I wrote before, hope you like them as much as our tankers do!

Cheers Allies!  

And go Canada!  

Regards,

Mourning  8)

 

[George Wallace]

;D

MBGDs don't matter.  If the MGs are FNs then that is what we have.  The Radios are going to be changed anyway. 

;D

 

[Mourning]

Btw what I understood is that it's 40 Leopard 2A4's,  40 Leopard 2A5's (could be A6, but I heard otherwise) and then 20 various ARV variants of the Leopard 2 Buffel (again which ones I do not know.

What I DO know is that we won't be sending you 80 or 100 Leopard 2A6M's ... because I don't think we have the M-version (yet), so that would be hard to sell  . OTOH the CF's could have them updated, offcourse to that variant.

Regards,

Mourning  8)

 

[Lance Wiebe]

The Dutch use the same MG's as we do, so no problems there.  I'm sure we can recycle some of the Wegmann MBGD to replace the French version they use, and the radios are no big deal, either.

I still hope that there all A6, but then again, the dutch upgraded their A4 to the A6 standard, maybe they could do a few more for their UN friends.....

 

[Kirkhill]

Mourning - could you be a good fellow and translate this for us linguistically challenged types?  ;D  Your Mindef people haven't got round to issuing the English language version yet.

Near as I can make out you are selling us 20 x 2A6 and 80 x 2A4.

Would the Engineer types be based on the A4 model?  Because that would seem to leave us with a fleet of 20 x 2A6 with 20 x 2A4 to be upgraded to the same standard (possibly 2A6M), 40 x 2A4 to be upgraded to a lesser standard and 20 x 2A4 based engineer and support variants?

Defensie heeft verkoopt honderd Leopard gevechtstanks verkocht aan Canada. De overeenkomst werd bekend gemaakt tijdens het bezoek van minister van Defensie, Eimert van Middelkoop, aan Canada. Het gaat om twintig Leopard’s 2 A6 en tachtig Leopard’s 2 A4.

Het afstoten van de tanks is onderdeel van de reductie van gevechtstanks waartoe Defensie al eerder besloot. Nederland houdt honderdtien Leopard’s 2 A6 tanks operationeel.

De aan Canada verkochte Leopard’s 2 A6 zijn vorig jaar volledig bijgewerkt. Defensie gaat als onderdeel van de overeenkomst de scholing van Canadese instructeurs verzorgen. De trainingen beginnen in mei.

Minister van Defensie Eimert van Middelkoop woont in Canada de ministeriële "Regional Command South" bijeenkomst in Quebec bij. Zie onderstaande link voor meer info over het bezoek.

http://www.mindef.nl/actueel/nieuws/2007/04/20070412_verkoop_leopard.aspx

 

[retiredgrunt45]

Holy Cromoly!!!! We actually went and done it. We have graduated from thinking about it, might do it, lets see if we have the money do it, to actually doing it!!!

Wow to be 20 years younger, 50 lbs lighter... I'd love to be a tanker!

 

[George Wallace]

Kirkhill

The chassis of the Leo 2 variants are the same.  It is the MBTs that are classified differently due to the differences in their Turrets and Weapon/Fire Control Systems.  The chassis of all the MBTs are all basically the same.

 

[Babbling Brooks]

As I understand it, a significant chunk of the $650 million is going to be for upgrades to the units we're getting.  So I'd guess that means up-armouring, among other things.

 

[Jammer]

YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Heheheheehe....George you must be doing cartwheels....

 

[George Wallace]

......and more.......

 

[Eland]

This is great news! And long, long, long overdue. For a long time I was beginning to wonder if the army was
actually going to get any new 'cats' - you know how on-again, off-again governments (particularly
those of the Liberal persuasion) can be when it comes to big military procurements.

Did someone say that $650 million is being allocated to upgrade THE 2A4's? If so, does this
mean the tanks will be upgraded to something approaching a 2A5 standard?

Now all we need is four hundred tracked IFV's to complement the Leopards and
we'll have the makings of a proper mechanized infantry brigade.

 

[jimmy742]

From what I'm reading, it sounds like a good deal and exactly what is needed. A proven and modern vehicle, parts, training and upgrades - all in a timely manner and for a reasonable cost (as good as new but cheaper). I'll give the Govt. and DND credit for doing the smart thing.   

 

[Colin Parkinson]

They should annouce that they get better gas mileage and will have a smaller Carbon footprint......

 

[rosco]

This probably explains why us new recruits have been "nudged" towards Armour!
Sounds good to me.  ;D

 

[Kirkhill]

Kirkhill

The chassis of the Leo 2 variants are the same.  It is the MBTs that are classified differently due to the differences in their Turrets and Weapon/Fire Control Systems.  The chassis of all the MBTs are all basically the same.

Thanks George,  and Congratulations Daddy  ;D

 

[Cdn Blackshirt]

Just in case there is anyone involved in the project, in case you haven't seen this, this is a very interesting model if we're doing a Canadian refit.

http://www.defense-update.com/products/l/Leopard-PSO.htm

....Leopard Peace Support Operations (PSO) is a demonstrator vehicle, developed by Krauss Maffei Wegmann (KMW) to enable the German Army and other Leopard 2 users to evaluate the use of tanks in urban warfare scenarios. The PSO was displayed at Eurosatory 2006 fitted with add-on armor to the turret and hull (skirts), a dozer blade, operated by the driver, to remove road obstacles. A remotely controlled weapon station is mounted on the side of the turret, next to the loader's position, enabling the crew to effectively engage close-in targets under the protection of the tank's armor. This station also improves the tank's capability to engage targets at higher elevations.

Close-in panoramic coverage is provided by hull-mounted cameras, covering 360 degrees, augmenting the tank's vision and targeting systems. Existing sights are protected with metal screens to prevent damage by stones or debris. Internally, images from the vision systems can be distributed to all crew members, to share workload in continuous operation. To improve interoperability with nearby troops, external radio/intercom interface was added, enabling nearby troops to communicate with the tank. The tank was painted in an experimental urban combat pattern, recommended for deployment in Afghanistan.

 

[vonGarvin]

FYI: we are NOT getting the "PSO" variant.

The purchase will include a number of "older variant" Leo 2A4s.  Those purchased will be upgraded to A6 standard here in Canada. 
The purchase price (650 million) includes those upgrades.