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Hi all I did a search and didn't seem to find anything on this....read this in today's paper.
http://www.thechronicleherald.ca/Opinion/998755.html
Afghans damage Leopard tank 'behond repair'
By SCOTT TAYLOR On Target
Mon. Dec 17 - 5:12 AM
RECENT NEWS REPORTS have claimed that Afghan insurgents damaged one of Canada’s Leopard 2A6M main battle tanks "beyond repair."
In the original incident report, the tank was described as "disabled," and senior officials deny that the vehicle was destroyed. Also not confirmed is whether a conventional landmine or an improvised explosive device generated the blast.
The tank was one of 20 Leopard 2A6Ms on loan to Canadian troops from the German army. Weighing in at close to 70 tonnes, these armoured behemoths are considered to be the best main battle tank in service today. Prior to the Canadians taking possession, these tanks were put through a thorough upgrade at the Krauss Maffei Wegmann plant in the outskirts of Munich. Originally destined for service with the German Panzer brigades, the upgrade included additional armour protection on the belly of the vehicle to improve the crew’s survivability in the case of an anti-tank mine.
Whatever the extent of the damage to the Canadian tank in Kandahar, the additional protection proved to be adequate in this instance. While the driver suffered a broken hip, the remaining crew members survived unscathed. One of the survivors was so grateful that he penned a letter to German defence officials, praising the protection offered by the Leopard 2A6M, noting that "the tank worked as it should."
This letter was shared with the German media and played up as a positive result for KMW technology. The Canadian military saw the revelation of a destroyed tank in a different context and originally refused to confirm the authenticity of the letter in question.
One possible reason for our Defence Department’s reluctance to admit a Leopard 2A6M was rendered hors de combat by Afghan insurgents is the fact that the arrangement with the German military is on a loan basis — not a lease or a purchase. No money was paid to acquire the tanks, and there are no rental fees associated with our use of the vehicles in Kandahar. The only stipulation is that we return all 20 Leopard 2A6Ms in the same condition in which we received them. Obviously, after months (years?) of strenuous front-line service in Afghanistan, there will be a fair amount of wear and tear, which alone will require extensive refurbishment; if battle damage (or destruction) occurs, Canada will have to foot a fairly steep repair / replacement bill before returning the tanks.
In addition to the 20 German tanks, Canada also maintains a squadron of older Leopard I medium tanks in Kandahar. Acquired in the 1970s, Canada’s original 120 Leopard 1s were described as "Cold War relics" in 2004 by then-army commander Rick Hillier and declared obsolete. By the time the battle group in Kandahar realized that the Leopard 1’s 45 tonnes of armour protection would be a welcome addition to their IED-targeted convoys, only 66 of the tanks remained in the Canadian inventory. A dozen of those were quickly dispatched to Afghanistan, with the remainder being used for training in Canada.
Last spring, the Defence Department announced the purchase of 100 Leopard 2s from the Dutch army. Of these, 30 will be the more modern Leopard 2A6 variant, with the remainder being the older Leopard 2A4s. However, to bring these tanks up to the same level of mine-protection as the German Leopard 2A6M loaners, will require extensive upgrades. Until plans are finalized, these tanks will remain in the Netherlands.
In a famine-to-feast reversal, Canada has gone from the brink of becoming a tankless army to one possessing a widely varied fleet of four different generations of Leopards scattered over three continents.
From our experience in Kandahar, the combination of armoured protection and heavy firepower has proven that main battle tanks still have a place on the modern counter-insurgency battlefield. That being said, it is imperative that Canada develops some form of long-term plan to upgrade and maintain our hastily acquired new tanks.
I did a search and tried to skim the armor forum...if this news has been reported on the site sorry to repeat.
http://www.thechronicleherald.ca/Opinion/998755.html
Afghans damage Leopard tank 'behond repair'
By SCOTT TAYLOR On Target
Mon. Dec 17 - 5:12 AM
RECENT NEWS REPORTS have claimed that Afghan insurgents damaged one of Canada’s Leopard 2A6M main battle tanks "beyond repair."
In the original incident report, the tank was described as "disabled," and senior officials deny that the vehicle was destroyed. Also not confirmed is whether a conventional landmine or an improvised explosive device generated the blast.
The tank was one of 20 Leopard 2A6Ms on loan to Canadian troops from the German army. Weighing in at close to 70 tonnes, these armoured behemoths are considered to be the best main battle tank in service today. Prior to the Canadians taking possession, these tanks were put through a thorough upgrade at the Krauss Maffei Wegmann plant in the outskirts of Munich. Originally destined for service with the German Panzer brigades, the upgrade included additional armour protection on the belly of the vehicle to improve the crew’s survivability in the case of an anti-tank mine.
Whatever the extent of the damage to the Canadian tank in Kandahar, the additional protection proved to be adequate in this instance. While the driver suffered a broken hip, the remaining crew members survived unscathed. One of the survivors was so grateful that he penned a letter to German defence officials, praising the protection offered by the Leopard 2A6M, noting that "the tank worked as it should."
This letter was shared with the German media and played up as a positive result for KMW technology. The Canadian military saw the revelation of a destroyed tank in a different context and originally refused to confirm the authenticity of the letter in question.
One possible reason for our Defence Department’s reluctance to admit a Leopard 2A6M was rendered hors de combat by Afghan insurgents is the fact that the arrangement with the German military is on a loan basis — not a lease or a purchase. No money was paid to acquire the tanks, and there are no rental fees associated with our use of the vehicles in Kandahar. The only stipulation is that we return all 20 Leopard 2A6Ms in the same condition in which we received them. Obviously, after months (years?) of strenuous front-line service in Afghanistan, there will be a fair amount of wear and tear, which alone will require extensive refurbishment; if battle damage (or destruction) occurs, Canada will have to foot a fairly steep repair / replacement bill before returning the tanks.
In addition to the 20 German tanks, Canada also maintains a squadron of older Leopard I medium tanks in Kandahar. Acquired in the 1970s, Canada’s original 120 Leopard 1s were described as "Cold War relics" in 2004 by then-army commander Rick Hillier and declared obsolete. By the time the battle group in Kandahar realized that the Leopard 1’s 45 tonnes of armour protection would be a welcome addition to their IED-targeted convoys, only 66 of the tanks remained in the Canadian inventory. A dozen of those were quickly dispatched to Afghanistan, with the remainder being used for training in Canada.
Last spring, the Defence Department announced the purchase of 100 Leopard 2s from the Dutch army. Of these, 30 will be the more modern Leopard 2A6 variant, with the remainder being the older Leopard 2A4s. However, to bring these tanks up to the same level of mine-protection as the German Leopard 2A6M loaners, will require extensive upgrades. Until plans are finalized, these tanks will remain in the Netherlands.
In a famine-to-feast reversal, Canada has gone from the brink of becoming a tankless army to one possessing a widely varied fleet of four different generations of Leopards scattered over three continents.
From our experience in Kandahar, the combination of armoured protection and heavy firepower has proven that main battle tanks still have a place on the modern counter-insurgency battlefield. That being said, it is imperative that Canada develops some form of long-term plan to upgrade and maintain our hastily acquired new tanks.
I did a search and tried to skim the armor forum...if this news has been reported on the site sorry to repeat.
