What Can Russians Learn from Capturing a Leopard 2A6 Tank

I hate the narative that Ukraine didn't have anything in the beginning of the conflict, they had a pretty sizable military including aircraft tanks and navy...

The antitank technology is a lot more advanced than the tanks themselves. All tanks are vulnerable nowadays

They can learn that Leo is comfortable and has intricate air-conditioning, but that's not enough in modern combat

The russians don't need to capture the leopard to learn about it, they can just go and play war thunder. lol.

Infantry, artillery and drones dominate the modern battlefield, not tanks.

The vulnerable spots, I don't expect they would want to copy much of it

"Lacking a significant number of tanks..." they had 2000 tank going into the war!

Comically enough nobody ever even talks about the French MX-100 supposedly "game changer" wheeled tank hunter vehicle... Ukraine received like 100 of them, like 30 got smoked in less than 3 weeks because it's totally incapable of actually moving and operating on a real battlefield with deep mud, slopes and shell craters... getting always stuck and forcing the crews to abandon them before being toasted like sitting ducks. The MX-100 where then quietly retired from the battlefields by the Ukranians with an officer commenting "it looks like they were designed to work only on flat parade tarmac in Place Vendòme or somewhere like that..." 🤭

They can learn how complicated, over engeniered and expensive this thing might be. Greetings from germany

For those who are interested in the facts. -Confirming intel: By having the specimen at hand you could valuate your intel sources regarding their accuracy and trustworthyness. -They could measure armor protection values. -Since this is a runner they could do mobility trials to measure fuel consumption and to have accurate details about how it performs in various terrains in various seasons. -They captured ammonition intact, they could do chemical analisys with the gun powder, which is burning less aggressivelly as the typical gunpowder used for shells, also this thing has a HE round which is less likelly to explode upon getting hit. -Taking a look into the electronic components, communication, thermals, firing controls. -Stabilisator, and electronic turret traverse, engine and gearbox could be of interest. -Carefull look into the way the tank is being assembled, what parts being used, what technology is being used to determite production output estimations. -Looking for part supplied from outside germany, looking for possibilities of sabotaging the supply line.

T64BV 1985 base - approximately 1,000 -1,500, about 1,000 in service (and Yanukovych said there were 4,000 in storage) T64 Bulat 2005 from 150 pieces in 2014 there are about 100 left at the beginning of 2022 T64M unknown quantity from a couple of dozen to hundreds. T72 AMT updated in 2020, only 36 pieces. T72A Soviet order 300 (+500 in storage) After the collapse of the Soviet Union, 260 T-80 tanks remained on the territory of Ukraine. Most of them, which are 181 T-80B units and another 56 T-80BV. About 100 were on the move at the beginning of the war in the Southern District, near Odessa. T84 Oplot...1 of 6 left somewhere. T80UD was converted into Oplot and sold. Ukr total: approximately 2,000-2,500 pieces on the move by the beginning of the war. +And from 600-1000 T72M and EA from Europe must not be forgotten. T72 Polish RT91 was given 90 (but they still have it and will give it or have already given it) Total maximum of those who broadcast about the T72 transfer Poland - 318 (+232 RT91) Czech Republic - 93 Slovakia - 30 Macedonia - 31 Romania - 28 Slovenia - 54 Morocco - 158 ?(Czechs stole, but unknown how many) Bosnia - ? Kuwait - ? Maximum total: 800 - 1,000 T72 +28 M55 (T55 Slovenia) +38 AMX-10 +14 Challenger +110 Leopard2 +300 Leopard1 (but so far they have transmitted +-100) +31 Abrams Annual tank losses are approximately 500-1,000 on all sides. But it is impossible to restore the T64 in Europe, so it is a fading nature. The next big injection after T72 could be Leopard1, of which there are about 1,500 in warehouses in Italy and Greece. And several hundred throughout Europe. The Bulgarians and Hungarians still have the T72, but they don’t want to give it away. In fact, right now in Europe there are fewer T72s left than they have already given away Croatia - 75 Bulgaria - 160 (+250) Hungary - 164 In fact, the supply of T72 is almost exhausted. Euro T72 is worse than Soviet ones in terms of armor, and in terms of electronics only Poland and the Czech Republic have modern ones, and even then not all of them. Most of them do not have a thermal imager. Ukraine was supplied with the most powerful group of tanks in Europe (not counting its own) for the offensive and they lost everything, so Ze has the stigma of a loser. Screw a tank army of 2000-2500 tanks. The British won’t give Challenger2 (it was just a gesture), Leclercs too, Ariete Italians too (but why haven’t they sold 900 Lipards1 yet), Lipard2 in total about 3000 units have been produced. ======= In the Russian Federation it was at the beginning of the war T90A 2005 - 350 T90 1991 old for storage - 200 T90M - 100 T90A were seen near Kiev and Kharkov at the beginning of the war, T90M were not used. The maximum is 350 T90 units in total that could take part in the war. T80M 2018 total - 190 T80BV 1985 - 360 All were spotted, including M in the North near Kiev. T80BV were in all areas and were transported even from Khabarovsk by the Marine Corps and guards units of Transbaikalia. Total: there could have been 550 of all T80s, but I don’t think they brought them all. T72B3M has been updated since 2011 and by 2022 there were almost 1,400 of them. They were in the Southern Military District near Rostov. Therefore, it is logical that there are so many of them in Ukraine - they are massive and close. In addition, T72B from 1985 and 1989 were on the move - 650 units. As a result, throughout the entire Russian Federation there was T90 - 350 T80 - 550 T72 - 2000 A maximum of about 3,000 tanks for all of Russia at the beginning of the war. Entered, I think, the grading of tanks 2000-2500. With annual losses of 500-1,000, but not all losses are total. Ukraine had approximately the same tank group of 2000-2500 tanks at the beginning of the war and approximately the same losses. About 1,000 tanks were received from Europe for the attack in 2023.

Russia can't really learn much from a tank design dating to the 70's

I’ve learned that western tanks are not that advanced as their PR

they will learn its older than their t-90m and t-14

Russians captured many Mercedeses, Audis and still producing Lada.

All tanks are vulnerable in combat

The F-16s Flying Falcons will be captured next.

The same thing is happening to tanks (Eastern and Western) that happened to medieval armored knights on horseback when firearms entered the battlefield. Today it's drones.

Video: What Can Russians Learn from Capturing a Leopard 2A6 Tank? Me: That calling a tank after a cat family species in fact doesn't provide additional lives.

Tanks for the memories! Crimea river... a tank may change nations but a Leopard, never changes its spots!