Leopard tank improvisations in Ukraine stir German debate
German experts express concern over the improvised nature of reinforcing Leopard 2 tanks in Ukraine. Ukrainians respond sharply, explaining their reasons for these modifications.
German observers on the Hartpunkt portal highlight reports of the use of improvised protective measures, such as grids and Kontakt-1 blocks on Leopard 2 and Leopard 1A5 tanks in the Ukrainian army. Similar solutions are also used on other tanks in the armed forces of Ukraine and Russia.
Ukrainians respond to the criticism on the Defense Express portal, stating that the war severely tests the effectiveness of military equipment, including Leopard 1A5 tanks. While their armour is limited, Ukrainian modifications, such as reactive armour blocks, increase their resistance to FPV drone attacks.
The operation of reactive armour blocks and their effectiveness on Leopards
Reactive armour blocks Kontakt-1 are a simple solution from the 1980s, essentially consisting of two steel plates with about 260 grams of strong explosive material in between. This detonates upon being hit by a shaped charge jet and disperses it with a shock wave and a hail of fragments, effectively nullifying its penetration capabilities.
However, the armour of the Leopard 1 is just adequate for using Kontakt-1 blocks because the armour they are applied to must withstand the force of the explosion. In cases where the armour is too thin, as with Russian BMP-2s, it can result in the death of the crew inside.
For example, commonly used PG-7VL grenades on drones can penetrate 500 millimetres of steel armour, and the Leopard 1’s 75-millimetre armour offers no protection against them. These modifications allow these tanks to survive up to 12 hits, which is an impressive outcome. This makes the Leopard 1A5 tanks, whose design dates back to the 1960s, still useful on the Ukrainian battlefield.
The improvisation of Ukrainians — they do it because they have no alternatives
Here, Ukrainians do not entirely dismiss German criticism that the improvised armour reinforcement negatively affects the so-called iron triangle, which is the compromise of a tank in terms of mobility, armour, and firepower. The extra weight adversely affects mobility, suspension durability, and additional armour limits crew awareness by narrowing their field of view.
Moreover, Ukrainians proceed in this manner because the Germans offer them no practical solutions, and aside from these modifications, there is little else available to Ukrainians in the short term. The ideal solution would be to provide, for example, the Trophy active protection system known from Israeli Merkava tanks or the latest Leopard 2A8 tanks, which Ukraine cannot expect at present.
