Reinforcement of Ukrainian armored forces with older Leopard 1s begins with glitches. A large proportion of the tanks delivered from industrial stocks have to be repaired straight away.
The Defense Ministry wants to increase technical cooperation with Ukraine in response to failures of the older Leopard 1 main battle tanks.
Ukrainian repairmen should be trained for maintenance, and the takeover of the weapon systems from industry should take place immediately together with Ukrainian experts, the Defense Ministry told the German Press Agency.
According to a “Spiegel” report, there are significant problems with delivery. According to the magazine’s information, Kiev has refused to take delivery of ten Leopard 1A5 tanks because they are in dire need of repair. Experts from the German Ministry of Defense found that the tanks were so badly worn out during the training of Ukrainian soldiers in Germany that they needed repairs.
Bundeswehr retires last Leopard 1 20 years ago
It is also said that several of the Leopard 1A5 tanks that were transferred to Ukraine in July broke down there due to similar problems. The tanks, which came from industrial stocks and were repaired by the defense companies, were the first tranches of a planned large-scale delivery. In February, the federal government promised to deliver 100 older Leopard 1 battle tanks to Ukraine. The Bundeswehr retired its last Leopard 1 20 years ago.
This training for the maintenance and repair experts is scheduled to begin shortly. Ukraine should then also receive spare parts and special tools. According to this information, Ukraine had pushed to receive the first Leopard 1A5 as soon as possible and also before the completion of technical training. The Leopard 1s are around 50 years old, but have been overhauled.
According to dpa information, when the defects were checked it was found that some of them could be remedied with simple repairs and at the storage location in Rzeszow, Poland. A need for maintenance and repairs was also identified for the ten Leopard 1A5s already delivered to Ukraine. It is planned to equip at least 30 Leopard 1A5s with modern thermal imaging devices, which will increase their combat capability at night.
Source: Stern
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