Czech army takes delivery of first Leopard 2A4 tank donated by Germany.

On December 21, 2022, the Czech Ministry of Defense announced that the Czech Army's 73rd Tank Battalion had taken delivery of the first Leopard 2A4 main battle tank whose donation had been negotiated with Germany in May 2022.
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On December 21, 2022, Czech Army took delivery of the first Leopard 2A4 Main Battle Tank donated by Germany. (Picture source Czech MoD)

In May 2022, the Czech Minister of Defense Jana Černochová announced negotiations with Germany for the donation of 20 Leopard 2A4 tanks and the purchase of 40 Leopard 2A7 tanks.

The Czech Ministry of Defense launched the Czech Armed Forces Development Concept (CAFDC) 2030 directly follows the CAFDC 2025 with the goal to provide policy guidance for the 21st century Czech Armed Forces to be mission ready and effective. The modernization of the Czech army also includes the procurement of new main battle tanks.

According to the Military Balance 2021, the Czech army had 30 T-72M4CZ in service, plus 89 T-72 in store. The service life of T-72M4CZ tanks will be extended and a decision will be taken about their replacement. The new Leopard tanks will replace old Soviet-made T-72 tanks.

The 2A4 version is the first operational tank in the Leopard 2 family. The tank is fitted with a three-man turret armed with a 120mm, L44 smoothbore gun operated with the Stabilized Control System. The fire control system enables the MBTs to maintain accuracy even while on the move. Further enhancements include the use of more lethal and versatile kinetic energy and multipurpose ammunition (for example advanced kinetic energy rounds and programmable fuse, multi-purpose rounds).

The Leopard 2A4 is powered by a turbocharged diesel engine developing 1,500 hp. This tank has one of the most favorable power-to-weight ratios in its class. It can reach a top road speed of 72km/h and up to 60 km/h in cross-country terrain.

The Leopard 2A7 is a modernized version of the Leopard 2A6 main battle tank. The main features of this new upgrade of the Leopard 2 tank include new armor, an energy system, a crew compartment cooling system, and a new weapon engagement system.

The main armament of the Leopard 2A7 is similar to the Leopard 2A6 consisting of one L/55 120mm Rh 120 smoothbore gun, one MG3A1 7.62x51mm caliber coaxial machine gun, and a 7.62 mm MG3 machine gun mounted on the loader hatch located on the left side of the roof turret. With the improved kinetic energy ammunition DM53, the L55 gun can fire to a range of 5,000 m.

The Leopard 2A7 is motorized with an MTU MB 873 Ka-501 liquid-cooled V12 twin-turbo diesel engine developing 1,479 hp. at 2,600 rpm coupled to a Renk HSWL 354 transmission with four forward and two reverse gears, with a torque converter and is completely automatic, with the driver selecting the range. It can run at a maximum road speed of 70 km/h with a maximum cruising range of 450 km.