Tankopedia
Late Cold WarMBTMain Battle TankWest Germany

Leopard 2

In service 1979 - in service today

Germany's answer to the same problem as the Abrams, with a diesel engine and the 120 mm smoothbore that armed most of NATO.

Built byKrauss-Maffei Wegmann

Leopard 2
Norwegian Leopard tanks in the snow — SSgt. Rodney K. Prouty, via Wikimedia Commons · Public domain

Development history

Developed alongside the American programme after MBT-70 failed, the Leopard 2 paired multilayer spaced armour with a hunter-killer fire-control system and the Rheinmetall smoothbore gun later licensed for the Abrams. The 2A5 added the distinctive wedge-shaped turret add-on armour and the 2A6 a longer L/55 barrel. Widely exported and repeatedly modernised, it has fought in Afghanistan, Syria and Ukraine.

Variants

One canonical record, 5 recorded variants.

  1. Leopard 2A0-2A3

    1979

    Original vertical-front turret with spaced multilayer armour.

  2. Leopard 2A4

    1985

    Improved titanium-tungsten armour and digital fire control; most exported mark.

  3. Leopard 2A5

    1995

    Wedge-shaped add-on turret armour, relocated commander sight.

  4. Leopard 2A6

    2001

    Longer L/55 gun barrel and mine protection.

  5. Leopard 2A7V

    2017

    Urban protection, air conditioning, updated electronics and optics.

Notable actions

  • Kosovo peacekeeping (1999)
  • Afghanistan (2007-11, Canadian and Danish use)
  • Syrian border operations (2016-19, Turkish use)
  • Russo-Ukrainian War (2023-)