Tower is remote controlled
Tank builder KNDS presents latest Leopard 2 version
17.06.2024, 07:33
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Greater safety for the crew thanks to a remote-controlled turret – that’s what manufacturer KNDS promises with the latest model of the Leopard 2. This is being presented at an arms fair, as is a gun that is said to be “more powerful than all comparable tube weapons”.
The German-French tank manufacturer KNDS is presenting a new version of the Leopard 2 battle tank at the Eurosatory arms fair. The weapon system, which has been further developed with new technologies, will be shown to the public at the show north of Paris, the company announced. The new Leopard 2 A-RC 3.0 model has an unmanned and remote-controlled turret, it said. Guns with a caliber between 120 and 140 millimeters can be mounted there and also replaced at short notice.
KNDS is a merger of the German tank manufacturer KMW and the French arms company Nexter. The group also wants to push ahead with the construction of the state-of-the-art land combat system MGCS (“Main Ground Combat System”) and describes the new Leopard 2 as a “bridging solution” until the introduction of the future land combat system and a “decisive technological precursor”.
In the new model, the cannon no longer submerges into the interior of the vehicle, it said. “The three to four-person crew can now be accommodated entirely in the hull in a specially protected crew cell,” the company explains. This makes it possible to achieve increased protection, a significant reduction in weight and also increased firepower against threats from close range and from the air.
KNDS mentions a remote-controlled weapon station for defense against drones and a guided missile system that can be used to attack targets outside of visual contact, even while driving. The company describes the innovations as “backwards compatible” and writes: “All Leopard 2 variants currently in use can be upgraded to the Leopard 2 A-RC 3.0 equipment level.”
Criticism of hesitant German orders
The developers are also praising their new gun “Ascalon”. It is a main gun for battle tanks, “which is more powerful than all comparable tube weapons” and has an “open architecture”, which means that customers can use other technical solutions. KNDS currently says it has around 800 weapon systems in use on the Ukrainian front or under contract to deliver them to Ukraine. “This makes the company one of the world’s most important industrial supporters of Ukraine in the fight against Russian aggression,” the statement said.
The company also supplies essential weapon systems for the modernization of the German army, but has recently repeatedly expressed public surprise at the slow pace of orders. “In Germany, we only have a stock of around 300 battle tanks ready for use. That’s why I often say: we can still defend Augsburg with them, but not Munich and Berlin,” warned KNDS boss Frank Haun in the “FAZ” newspaper just this weekend.
He also expressed doubts about the pace of armament under Defense Minister Boris Pistorius. “He is concluding a framework agreement with us for 123 Leopard tanks and has ordered 18 so far, just as many as Germany has delivered to Ukraine,” said Haun. The majority of the orders in 2023 did not come from Germany, but from other NATO countries.