German Government May Approve Leopard Sale to Saudi Arabia

The Leopard 2 A7+ Debut on Eurosatory 2010.

Photo: Noam Eshel, Defense-Update

July 5, 2011 By David Eshel DEFENSE UPDATE

According to a report from the German magazine Der Spiegel, the German Government will soon approve a sale from the latest version of the Leopard A7+ to Saudi Arabia, which is interested in purchasing about 200 units of this advanced version tank, possibly for its Royal National Guards armored unit. Should this sale be realized, it would signify a change of the traditional Bundestag policy, preventing massive military hardware to the authoritarian- ruled Arab kingdom.

The German weapons industry, including  the Munich-based armor building firm Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and the second largest land system manufacturer Rheinmetall are hoping for a multi-billion dollar business with the Saudis. Riyadh, which has been involved in putting down the Shia uprising in Bahrein, is looking for suitable heavy weapons to use against similar incidents, which might even evolve in the Kingdom itself. They consider the new Leopard A7+, built for urban warfare as excellent for crowd control and anti-riot task. The Saudi Government had previousley negotiated with Spain to purchase Leopard tanks built under licence, but decided later to contact Germany directly instead.

The German Government, which has sofar not ratified the sale, has for many decades refused similar sales in regard for Israeli concerns, but recently reached the conclusion that a presence of Leopard tanks in Saudi Arabia will not jeopardize Israel’s security.

The Leopard 2 is a heavyweight Main Battle Tank (MBT) designed to replace Leopard 1 in the German Army countering the soviet-made T-72. The Leopard 2 features high mobility, protection, improved survivability over previous main battle tanks and a 120mm smoothbore gun. More than 3,000 Leopard 2 have been produced to date for 11 European nations. Due to this fact the Leopard is truly called the Euro Leopard 2.

The Leopard 2 main battle tank is the result of cooperation between Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and Rheinmetall. As the proven Leopard 1 technology follow-on, the Leopard 2 features high availability and low life cycle costs. It can operate day/night and in all-weather conditions.

The Leopard 2 modular design clears the way for rapid and easy modernization and upgrading programs. It was deployed for the first time in the 1990s during the former Yugoslavia conflict. It has not been involved in military campaigns, like the M1 Abrams and the British Challenger, but it is considered as one of the best main battle tanks currently in service.

The Leopard 2 A7+ is a further development of the successful Leopard 2 main battle tank incorporating a modular protection kit, increased mobility, improved sustainability, enhanced reconnaissance abilities and a more precise fire control system. As of mid-2010, it had successfully been tested and qualified by the German Army. The Leopard 2 A7+ modular design allows operations in urban terrain as well as high intensity operations. The same modular design also provides unmatched Improvised Explosive Device (IED) and mine protection. An urban operations kit offers a 360-degree protection against Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPG) while a duel-kit protects the crew from Kinetic Energy (KE) and Shaped Charge (SC) projectiles especially on the frontal arc in classical duel-situations.

The Leopard’s main gun can fire a 120mm High Explosive (HE) round that enables the crew to engage targets behind cover and within buildings. Besides, the FLW 200 remote weapon station is operated under protection avoiding exposing the tank’s commander and gunner to hostile fire in urban terrain operations. The Leopard 2 A7+ also features a new final drive, new track, enhanced torsion bars and improved brake system and an adaptable dozer blade to clear obstacles. A new high performance cooling unit and an Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) allows to accomplish continuous operations for 24-hour. The tank’s situational awareness has been enhanced thanks to the third generation ATTICA thermal sight for the commander and gunner and day/night cameras for the driver.

the FLW 200 remote weapon station is operated under protection avoiding exposing the tank's commander and gunner to hostile fire in urban terrain operations. Photo: Noam Eshel, Defense-Update