[Source/Observer Network, Wang Shih-puran] According to The Daily Telegraph's report on April 14th, leaked drafts of speeches by German Defense Ministry officials showed that the Leopard 2 tanks, highly expected by the West in Ukraine, performed poorly on the battlefield.
The draft revealed that the Ukrainian Armed Forces considered the Leopard 2 tank inefficient. This tank, like all other tanks, is vulnerable to drone attacks. Moreover, its complex design makes it difficult to repair on the battlefield, meaning damaged tanks must be sent to professional maintenance teams for repair, and some even need to be transported to Poland for repair. For these reasons, the Ukrainian Armed Forces used the Leopard 2 tanks as artillery weapons, firing from concealed positions.
Abandoned Leopard 2A6 tanks by Ukrainian forces on social media in Kursk
The unnamed defense attaché based in Kyiv stated at a meeting attended by about 200 German soldiers that these precious tanks have posed challenges for the Ukrainian army when fighting Russian forces. Ukrainian soldiers consider the Leopard 2 to have limited utility and is hard to repair.
A key issue is that the Leopard 2 is very susceptible to drone attacks, just like any other tank. However, an expert told The Daily Telegraph that due to Ukraine's lack of drone defense weapons, their heavy armored vehicles are exposed to drone fire.
The report pointed out that the design of German tanks is also very complex, making it extremely difficult to repair these tanks on the battlefield. This means that damaged Leopard 2 tanks had to be sent to specialized groups in western Ukraine or even Poland.
The Daily Telegraph noted that Germany is the European country that has provided the most military equipment to Ukraine. However, the leaked records also exposed problems with other types of equipment. The older German weapons provided to the Ukrainian army, such as the "Gepard" self-propelled anti-aircraft gun and the "Marder" infantry fighting vehicle, were praised for their reliability. But the new equipment purchased in this century has faced a series of issues.
For instance, the PzH-2000 self-propelled howitzer faces technical defects, IRIS-T air defense systems are expensive and have insufficient ammunition, and the Leopard 1A5 is criticized for having thin armor and can only be used as support artillery. The Patriot air defense system lost its value of use due to the obsolescence of transport vehicles and停产of spare parts.
Of course, The Daily Telegraph also noted that the Leopard 2 tank was not the only one receiving negative reviews from Ukraine. Similar problems have been reported with British Challenger 2 and American-made Abrams models. Last December, former U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan admitted that for Ukraine, the Abrams tank "is not the most useful equipment."
This article is an exclusive contribution from Observer Network and cannot be reprinted without permission.
Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7493375122477974068/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author. Please express your opinion by clicking the "like/dislike" buttons below.