The Leopard 2 is a main battle tank developed by Krauss-Maffei in the 1970s for the West German Army. The tank first entered service in 1979 and succeeded the earlier Leopard 1 as the main battle tank of the German Army. Various versions have served in the armed forces of Germany and 12 other European countries, as well as several non-European nations, including Canada, Chile, Indonesia, Singapore and Turkey. The Leopard 2 was used in Kosovo with the German Army and has also seen action in Afghanistan with the Danish and Canadian contributions to the International Security Assistance Force, as well as seeing action in Syria with the Turkish Armed Forces against IS and the YPJ. The latest version of the tank is the Leopard 2A7+, featuring the label “Developed by KMW – tested and qualified by German MoD. Already before the first Leopard 2A7 tank was handed over to the German Army, plans for future upgrades were already made. At this time an “extensive” increase in combat value while retaining the original mobility of the Leopard 2 was planned. The optics of the tank also will be improved. The Leopard 2A7+ is designed to operate both in low intensity and high intensity conflicts. The tank’s protection has been increased by modular armour; the frontal protection has been improved with a dual-kit on the turret and hull front, while 360° protection against RPGs and mine protection increase the survivability of the tank in urban operations.
