![]() 50 caliber heavy machine gun or 40mm grenade launcher on the turret. It also sports two 7.62mm machine guns for anti-infantry protection. Depending on the version, it packs a 120mm L/44 or 120mm L/55 main gun with around 40 rounds with the latter offering more range and penetration. (KMW), the Leopard 2 has a crew of four and weighs more than 60 tonnes. "The sophisticated and effective armor design, advanced optics, and cutting-edge crew training that make up the modern Western main battle tank system is a very different beast than the Soviet-era equipment and training being employed by the Russian aggressors.Manufactured by Krauss-Maffei Wegmann GmbH & Co. The provision of Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, if employed competently and effectively - and I am confident that they will be - will demonstrate just how effective, powerful, and critical a capability the modern battle tank still is," he noted. "In reality, there are few systems that can provide the combination of fire, protection, and maneuver that a tank can. "The war in Ukraine will prove that tanks still matter - and Leopards will outclass their Russian counterparts," John T. Watts, a nonresident senior fellow in the Forward Defense practice of the Atlantic Council's Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security said in emailed comments Wednesday. There are high hopes that the provision of modern Western battle tanks to Ukraine could shift the war momentum in Kyiv's favor, as have done other weapons, such as the U.S.-supplied high-mobility artillery rocket systems (HIMARS). "If the United States decides to supply tanks, it will be impossible to justify such step using arguments about 'defensive weapons'," he said on Telegram Wednesday, adding that American tanks would be "destroyed all other samples of NATO military equipment." Ukrainian frustration Russia has already slammed the prospect even in the absence of a White House announcement, with Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov describing the move as a "another blatant provocation against the Russian Federation." Reports emerged late Tuesday that Chancellor Scholz was ready to agree to send 14 Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, while the Biden administration was potentially prepared to provide a couple dozen M1 Abrams tanks. did the same, with the two failing to reach an agreement at a defense summit held at the Ramstein Air Base last Friday. Germany was also reportedly reluctant to deliver its own tanks unless the U.S. Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said as recently as Tuesday that Germany had to assess the situation further, as well as evaluate its own tank inventory, industry stocks and supply logistics and maintenance. Berlin is seen to be wary that Moscow could perceive the provision of tanks as an escalatory step. ![]() The decision to allow the export of German tanks to Ukraine comes after months of deliberation. Germany said it will issue the appropriate transfer permits to partner countries that want to "quickly deliver Leopard 2 tanks from their stocks to Ukraine." "In addition to training, the package will also include logistics, ammunition and system maintenance," it added. The training of the Ukrainian crews is to begin quickly in Germany, the statement noted. Other European partners will also hand over Leopard-2 tanks. As a first step, Germany will supply a company with 14 Leopard 2 A6 tanks from Bundeswehr stocks. Germany said its goal was to "quickly assemble two tank battalions with Leopard 2 tanks for Ukraine. We are acting in a closely coordinated manner internationally," the chancellor said. "This decision follows our well-known line of supporting Ukraine to the best of our ability. In a government statement, Scholz said that Germany would continue to increase military support for Ukraine and would provide the Ukrainian armed forces with Leopard 2s as a "result of intensive consultations that took place with Germany's closest European and international partners," according to a NBC News translation. Personal Loans for 670 Credit Score or Lower Personal Loans for 580 Credit Score or Lower Best Debt Consolidation Loans for Bad Credit
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