The third issue was electronics and maintenance. The M1 TUSK and Leopard 2A6M versions can ignore single-warhead anti-tank rockets like the RPG-7, and can also add belly armor kits to improve protection against IED land mines. Even with its add-on MEXAS armor, the 1970s vintage Leopard 1s lack the all-around protection possible in the latest main battle tanks like the American M1 Abrams, German Leopard 2, et. With vehicles committed to the fight and needed in the field, however, failure was not an option. Australia managed to add air conditioning to its Leopard 1s, but the Canadian version has a number of unique characteristics any retrofit project risked delays and complications.
#Canadian tank battles plus
Temperatures in southern Afghanistan can reach 50C/122F in the summer time, which can easily become a life-threatening 65C/150F inside the vehicle due to its enclosed nature plus heat generated by the tank’s hydraulic systems.
The first – and biggest – issue, is heat. The Leopard C2s have their own deficiencies, however. This clears a path for other forces, and allows the tanks to continue moving forward and providing fire support.
#Canadian tank battles full
This updated article includes a full chronology for Canada’s new Leopard 2 tanks, adds information concerning DND’s exact plans and breakdowns for their new fleet, and discusses front-line experiences in Afghanistan.Ĭanadian sources tell DID that in addition to direct fire support from the Leopard C2s’ 105mm gun, the tanks’ heft and traction are equally significant because they can crumble low-lying brick walls by using front-mounted engineering attachments like dozer blades – or just their own weight. By 2007, however, the lessons of war took Canada down a very different path – one that led them to renew the very tank fleet they were once intent on scrapping, while backing away from the wheeled vehicles that were once the cornerstone of the Canadian Army’s transformation plan.
In October 2003, Canada was set to buy the Styker/LAV-III 105mm Mobile Gun System to replace its Leopard C2 tanks. The intensity of recent conflicts in Central Asia and the Middle East has shown western militaries that tanks provide protection that cannot be matched by more lightly armored wheeled vehicles… tanks have also provided the Canadian Forces (CF) with the capability to travel to locations that would otherwise be inaccessible to wheeled light armoured vehicles, including Taliban defensive positions.” “The heavily protected direct fire capability of a main battle tank is an invaluable tool in the arsenal of any military. Canadian Forces took some of the lessons re-learned during Operation Medusa in Afghanistan, directly to heart.