Germany’s Leopard Tanks Prove Vulnerable in Islamic State Fight
"The reputation of Germany’s vaunted Leopard 2 tank, which forms the mainstay of NATO’s armored forces, has taken a pounding in battles with Islamic State militants in Syria." As reported by Stars and Stripes one year ago on 17 January 2017. (
Stripes) Now, Turkish Leopard tanks are being hammered in battles around Afrin in Operation Olive Branch.
In last year's report, poor Turkish tactics were cited as reason for the lost of her Leopard tanks. However, in this year's fight against the YPG, a design flaw is cited giving rise to the Leopard's vulnerability.
In reporting by Sputnik, "Military experts point to the vulnerable ammunition compartment as the Leopard-2’s weakest point."
The article added, “It has been proven once again that the much-touted Leopard-2 tanks have a fatal defect, as most of their onboard ammunition is stored in the forward left section with weak armor protection on both sides, specialists at Russia’s center of Strategy and Technology Analysis wrote after watching a video of the destroyed Leopard posted by the Kurdish militants."
And, "Experts believe that the Leopard near Afrin was apparently taken out by a Fagot antitank missile launcher, developed in the Soviet Union in the early-1970s, about a decade before the first Leopard-2 tanks came along.
The Fagots are still being used by the armies of more than 30 countries around the world."
(
Sputnik)