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The Key Points: Ukraine’s Leopard 2A4 tanks recently delivered a decisive blow to Russian forces in a rare tank-on-tank battle near the Vovcha River in Donetsk.

-Operated by Ukraine’s 33rd Mechanized Brigade, the German-made Leopard 2A4s destroyed multiple Russian tanks and armored vehicles, leveraging their superior firepower and survivability.

With its 120mm L44 cannon, advanced armor, and night vision capabilities, the Leopard 2A4 has proven invaluable in countering Russia’s advances.

-This engagement highlights the ongoing importance of tanks, even in the drone-dominated battlefield of Ukraine, and underscores the need for additional Leopard tanks to bolster Ukraine’s mechanized units.

Leopard 2 Tank Delivers A Blow to Russian Attacks

How about the recent actions of the German-made Leopard 2 tank in Ukraine?

This is one of the best main battle tanks in Europe, and it is proving its mettle against the Russians in Ukraine. A group of Leopard 2s just blasted a column of Russian tanks and infantry fighting vehicles in Ukraine’s Donetsk region recently, and the results were impressive. The enemy tanks and armored personnel carriers met their doom at the hands of the Leopard 2’s strong cannon.

The battle happened on the bank of the Vovcha River 18 miles south of Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine. The Russians were trying to attack a critical city in Donetsk called Pokrovsk, and to get there, Vladimir Putin’s forces needed to fight through a village called Kurakhove. That’s when the Leopards came in and said, “None shall pass.”

The Ukrainian tanks serving in the battle, acquired from Germany, were the advanced 2A4 variant, and they are just what friendly forces needed to change the momentum of the Russians. On November 11, Russian armored vehicles tried to maneuver around the Ukrainians to surround Pokrovsk and secure decisive territory to better rid the enemy of soldiers standing in the way of Putin fully controlling Donetsk.

Leopards Go Beast Mode

That is when Ukraine’s battle-hardened 33rd Mechanized Brigade, featuring 31 Leopard 2A4s, struck back. Forbes described the engagement. “As a Ukrainian drone observed from overhead, at least one Leopard 2A4 firing armor-piercing rounds shot holes through two Russian tanks, an armored personnel carrier, and several other vehicles. Ukrainian drones chased after the survivors.”

This was a rare tank-on-tank battle that is refreshing to see the Ukrainians win. Most tank engagements are limited in scope these days. Ukrainian and Russian armored vehicles usually sneak out of tree lines and only take long-range potshots at each other.

Leopard 2 Tank. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

Can Tanks Survive Against Drones?

Drones, of course, have changed armored warfare. The unmanned craft can easily spot a tank column moving and alert friendly forces of its whereabouts. Then, the artillery and kamikaze drones take over and blast away at the tanks’ weak points. Both sides have up-armored their tanks with so-called turtle shell armor, but that is not the answer as the added protection creates blind spots and hinders maneuverability.

The example detailed above was an old-fashioned battle between Ukraine and Russia, and the Leopard 2A4s did their job. Russia will continue to have difficulty against the 33rd Mechanized Brigade with the 31 Leopards.

The Leopard2 2A4 Has Better Survivability 

The Germans learned a large number of lessons from the Leopard deployments in the Balkans and Afghanistan. They incorporated this information in those efforts to create the 2A4 variant. This model improved on the 2A3 with better armor and undercarriage protection against mines and improvised explosive devices. The 2A4 also boasts more survivability against anti-tank weapons compared to earlier versions of the Leopard 2.

Leopard 2 Tank

A Norwegian Leopard 2A4 main battle tank during Iron Wolf II in Lithuania. It involves 2,300 troops from 12 NATO Allies. The Lithuanian-led exercise is helping to train the NATO Battlegroup which consists of soldiers from Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Norway. Shot in Rukla, Lithuania.

The driver also has night vision, which has made a difference in Ukraine. The 2A4 has a better “command and information system and a new operator concept for improving the vehicle’s maneuverability,” according to the German defense contractor KNDS.

Powerful Main Gun and Good Speed

Leopard 2A4s feature the 120 mm L44 smooth-bore cannon. The engine pushes out 1,500 horsepower and enables a speed of 43 miles per hour on roads. Its range is 280 miles.

More Leopard 2A4s should be sent to Ukraine to populate additional mechanized units. They can integrate up-armor kits to better protect against enemy drones and anti-tank missiles from Russian soldiers. 

The Leopard 2A4s can now say they can venture outside of trenches and forests and take on the best of Russian armor. Using recon drones to spot the enemy tanks and mechanized vehicle columns and then sending the Leopard to engage the enemy appears to be a winning technique. That 120mm gun is top-notch, especially with armor-piercing rounds.   

This is a notable battle because tank-on-tank warfare is rare in Ukraine. Times have changed, but the tank is far from obsolete. Units without heavy armor can only dig in and wait for reinforcements, while those with tanks like the Leopard 2A4 can serve longer on the battlefield.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky may want to get on the phone with the Germans and pester for more Leopard 2s.

About the Author: Dr. Brent M. Eastwood 

Brent M. Eastwood, PhD, is the author of Don’t Turn Your Back On the World: a Conservative Foreign Policy and Humans, Machines, and Data: Future Trends in Warfare, plus two other books. Brent was the founder and CEO of a tech firm that predicted world events using artificial intelligence. He served as a legislative fellow for U.S. Senator Tim Scott and advised the senator on defense and foreign policy issues. He has taught at American University, George Washington University, and George Mason University. Brent is a former U.S. Army Infantry officer. He can be followed on X @BMEastwood.