It is also one of the tanks that has known how to evolve best and most efficiently through no less than 16 versions, going from the initial version of 1979 equipped with a 105 mm gun and succinct analog electronics, to the ultimate A7+ version equipped with Rheinmetall's L/55 smoothbore cannon, and latest-generation on-board electronics and Vetronics, as well as an FLW200 automated turret in place of the original antique MG3 machine gun. Not only was it the first to enter service in 1979, but it is also the most exported model and one of the heaviest ever built, with, for the A7 version, a combat mass exceeding 65 tons. The Leopard 2, developed in the 70s by the German firm Krauss-Maffei Wegmann, is in many areas the tank of all records in this panel. , but also the weaknesses, and the decisive role they are called upon to play during this period. In this three-part summary article, we will present the most emblematic of modern combat tanks, the very ones that could potentially support the bulk of the clashes in the next 15 years on the planet, in order to understand their advantages. However, it is clear today, while geopolitical tensions continue to grow, that the tank market is doing well, with more than 4000 heavy tanks sold for export in the last three years alone, in Egypt, India, Pakistan, Poland, Hungary or Taiwan to name only the main contracts.Īt the same time, a new generation of these heavy armored vehicles has emerged, most of the time based on models from the end of the Cold War with new detection systems, protection and increased firepower, making these vehicles the essential tool for any medium- to high-intensity large-scale land action. Over the course of the conflicts, and the appearance of new weapon systems, such as the anti-tank missile or more recently the wandering ammunition, the end of the supremacy of the tank in land combat has many times been prophesied, following the example other major armaments such as aircraft carriers or combat aircraft. Since its first appearance on the battlefields during the First World War, the battle tank has been the subject of both extreme fascination for some, and total denial for others.
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