An ex-Danish Leopard 1A5 tank belonging to a Ukrainian army brigade survived at least eight hits by Russian first-person-view drones before potentially three more explosive FPV drones finally finished it off.
The Russian forces proudly published a video edition of the long bombing, but this is completely intelligent news for the Russians, or the bad news for the Ukrainians.
While the loss of all Leopard 1A5 is painful for the Ukrainian forces waiting for more than a year to obtain a giant number of old tanks of the 1980s of a film consortium -core -core -Marmore, the tanks to work .
The 40-ton, four-person Leopard 1A5 is a fast and maneuverable tank with accurate fire controls for its reliable 105-millimeter main gun. Its greatest weakness has always been its thin armor protection: a Leopard 1A5’s base armor is just 70 millimeters thick at its thickest. A newer Leopard 2A4 has four times as much protection.
As the first 1A5 Leopards, at least 155, the consortium is committed, began to arrive in Ukraine at the end of 2023, the Ukrainians put paints to deal with the biggest defect of the tanks. “The reinforcement strengthening disorders are already solved through Ukrainian engineers,” the Ukrainian ICTV reported.
During the next year, engineers have added explosive reactive armor layers, which explode out when it is hit to divert the incoming rounds. They also announced the hinge screens covered with networks that can FPV drones at this time before hitting.
All the complementary armor happens to have the Leopard 1A5 that recently ate up to 11 Russian drones. After repeated successes, the tank has still controlled to move, only to be hunted via more drones. Eventually immobilized, the tank was probably a general radiation after the ninth, tenth, or eleventh hit.
It’s unclear whether the four crew survived, but there are reasons to be optimistic. To reduce the risk of 105-millimeter rounds cooking off in the turret after an enemy hit, Leopard 1A5 crews stow only a few of the tank’s 42 rounds in the turret: the rest are tucked into the hull.
It is a heavy arrangement. To recharge, the tank “must return to a location,” a charger told a Ukrainian journalist. “Take time. ” The merit is that there are fewer towers to cook, and kill or mutilate the team, when the enemy fireplace penetrates the turret. It is not without explanation why the charger said that he felt “well” in the face of the concept of equipping a 1A5 leopard despite the thin armor of the tank.
After canceling this leopard 1a5, Harrssé de Drone, the eighth reservoir of this style that analysts showed as destroyed, the Ukrainians still have around Leopard 1a5. 50 or 60 others arrive soon.
Wait that all newly arrived leopardes obtain the complementary armor that supports 8 Russian drones.
Sources:
1. 2S7 Pion
2. Oryx
3. ICTV
4. Wartranslated