Hem
Leopard 2/Challenger 2. (AP/Wikimedia Commons.)

Brittiska och tyska vagnar är framme i Ukraina

Ukrainas armé har fått välbehövliga tillskott i form av stridsvagnar från allierade. Under måndagen bekräftades att tyska Leopard 2 och brittiska Challenger 2 levererats.

Från Tysklands håll rör det sig om 18 Leopard 2, enligt AFP.

– Ja, de har levererats som utlovat, sa förbundskansler Olaf Scholz vid en pressträff i Nederländerna.

Gällande Challenger bekräftar det ukrainska försvarsdepartementets talesperson Iryna Zolotar att de är på plats i Ukraina, men anger inte hur många.

Ukrainas försvarsminister Oleksij Reznikov sa tidigare under dagen att han inspekterat ”nya tillskott” till armén, som även innefattar det tyska pansarskyttefordonet Marder och amerikanska Stryker-stridsfordon.

”För ett år sedan kunde ingen ha trott att våra partners stöd skulle bli så starkt”, skriver han på Facebook.

bakgrund
 
Leopard 2
Wikipedia (en)
The Leopard 2 is a third generation German main battle tank (MBT). Developed by Krauss-Maffei in the 1970s, the tank entered service in 1979 and replaced the earlier Leopard 1 as the main battle tank of the West German army. Various iterations of the Leopard 2 continue to be operated by the armed forces of Germany, as well as 13 other European countries, and several non-European states around the world, including Canada, Chile, Indonesia, and Singapore. Some operating states have licensed the Leopard 2 design for local production and domestic development. There are two main development tranches of the Leopard 2. The first encompasses tanks produced up to the Leopard 2A4 standard and are characterised by their vertically faced turret armour. The second tranche, from Leopard 2A5 onwards, has an angled, arrow-shaped, turret appliqué armour, together with other improvements. The main armament of all Leopard 2 tanks is a smoothbore 120 mm cannon made by Rheinmetall. This is operated with a digital fire control system, laser rangefinder, and advanced night vision and sighting equipment. The tank is powered by a V12 twin-turbo diesel engine made by MTU Friedrichshafen. In the 1990s, the Leopard 2 was used by the German Army on peacekeeping operations in Kosovo. In the 2000s, Dutch, Danish and Canadian forces deployed their Leopard 2 tanks in the Afghanistan War as part of their contribution to the International Security Assistance Force. In the 2010s, Turkish Leopard 2 tanks saw action in Syria. In the 2020s, Leopard 2 tanks donated by Canada and European countries will likely see action in the Russian–Ukrainian war.
bakgrund
 
Challenger 2
Wikipedia (en)
The FV4034 Challenger 2 (MoD designation "CR2") is a third generation British main battle tank (MBT) in service with the armies of the United Kingdom and Oman.It was designed by Vickers Defence Systems (now BAE Systems Land & Armaments) as a private venture in 1986, and was an extensive redesign of the company's earlier Challenger 1 tank. The Ministry of Defence ordered a prototype in December 1988. Despite outward similarities to the Challenger 1, design and technological developments mean that only about 3% of components are interchangeable with the earlier vehicle.The Challenger 2 has a crew of four. The main armament is a L30A1 120-millimetre (4.7 in) rifled tank gun, an improved derivative of the L11 gun used on the Chieftain and Challenger 1. Fifty rounds of ammunition are carried for the main armament, alongside 4,200 rounds of 7.62 mm ammunition for the tank's secondary weapons: a L94A1 EX-34 chain gun mounted coaxially, and a L37A2 (GPMG) machine gun. The turret and hull are protected with second generation Chobham armour, also known as Dorchester. Powered by a Perkins CV12-6A V12 diesel engine, the tank has a range of 550 kilometres (340 mi) and maximum road speed of 59 kilometres per hour (37 mph).The Challenger 2 eventually completely replaced the Challenger 1 in British service. In June 1991, the UK ordered 140 vehicles, followed by a further 268 in 1994; these were delivered between 1994 and 2002. The tank entered operational service with the British Army in 1998 and has since been used in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and Iraq. To date, the only time a tank has been destroyed during operations was by accidental friendly fire from another Challenger 2 in Basra in 2003.Challenger 2 tanks were also ordered by Oman in the 1990s with delivery of 38 vehicles being completed in 2001. A number of British Challenger 2 tanks are set to be delivered to Ukraine in 2023. Since the Challenger 2 entered service in 1998, various upgrades have sought to improve its protection, mobility and lethality. This has culminated in a highly upgraded design, known as Challenger 3, which is set to gradually replace Challenger 2 from 2027.

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