Poland delivers to Ukraine first four Leopard 2A4 MBTs Main Battle Tanks.

On February 24, 2023, Poland delivered the first four Leopard 2A4 Main Battle Tanks to Ukraine. Citing information from Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, another batch of Leopard 2A4 tanks will be supplied in the next few weeks to the Ukrainian armed forces.
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The first Leopard 2A4 tanks donated by Poland arrived in Ukraine on February 25, 2023. (Picture source Twitter PortalMilitarny.pl)

At the same time, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki announced that Poland will also supply Ukraine T-72 and PT-91 Main Battle Tanks (MBTs).

In January 2023, Poland announced the delivery to Ukraine of 14 Leopard 2A4 MBTs, and on February 13, 2023, the Polish Ministry of Defense on February 13, 2023, Polish MoD announced that the training of Ukrainian soldiers to operate the Leopard 2 tanks had started.

In recent weeks, several European countries have taken the decision to deliver Leopard 1 and 2 tanks to Ukraine as part of military support against the invasion of the country by Russian troops.

Russia has one of the greatest powers in terms of main battle tanks. To face the power of the Russian army, the Ukrainian President continues to request the international community for military aid including more tanks and air defense systems.

Citing open source information, the Polish army has a total of 137 Leopard 2A4 Main Battle Tanks (being upgraded to 2PL), 105 Leopard 2A5 MBTs, and less than 10 Leopard 2PL MBTS. The Leopard 2A4s tanks donated by Poland to Ukraine come from the military inventory of the Polish army.

To recap, the Leopard 2A4 is the first operational version in the Leopard 2 tanks family but it still offers combat capabilities advantages compared to what remains of Ukraine’s Soviet-era tanks inventory, for instance, its more modern fire control system and armor package.

The Leopard 2A4 tank is equipped with an L44 120mm smoothbore gun. The L44 is a highly accurate and effective weapon system that can fire a variety of ammunition types, including high-explosive, armor-piercing, and anti-personnel rounds. The smoothbore design of the gun allows for greater accuracy and longer range compared to rifled guns, making it an excellent choice for a main battle tank. The L44 is also equipped with an advanced fire control system that helps to further increase its accuracy and effectiveness on the battlefield. The second armament of the Leopard 2A4 includes one 7.62mm coaxial machine gun mounted on the right of the main armament and one 7.62mm machine that can be mounted on the loader hatch.

The Leopard 2A4 tank is powered by an MTU MB 873 Ka-501 turbocharged diesel engine. This engine produces 1,500 horsepower allowing the tank to reach a road speed of up to 68 km/h and around 40 km/h in all-terrain conditions.