They're one of the most "bug fixed" artillery systems still in current use. They don't have all the latest fancy bells and whistles but they are work horses like no other. I've spent entirely too much time in them though....
I am glad the 2A6 is working fine. We have been producing so many leopard 2s for so long that their unit price is now below our new Puma IFV. Obviously we should take this opportunity to ramp up production.
Puma IFV is just ridiculously expensive. Leopard is pretty expensive for an MBT as well. Both are great, just too damn expensive because production for the Puma ifv and newer Leopard variants is happening at very low numbers so price per unit remains high The only reason something like an F-35A is only $78 million is because it is being produced at a very high volume. If new equipment isn’t produced in high quantities it will be too expensive for anyone to afford
@@tylerclayton6081 That seems to be the problem. In the US the problem, according to the Pentagon, is that we rely on 5 companies for all of our military equipment. That is insane and I am sure that will not happen in Ukraine! They've taken drones and other equipment from small startups and rather than send them through the military for testing they send them directly to the troops. Australia's cardboard drones weren't seen as anything special until a unit of drone flyers tested them and said yes, radar can't see them. Then they sent them to dissidents in Russia. They also designed a small drone with explosives that moves so fast that only the best drone operators can use them. They blinded Russia who had high tech surveillance equipment and these little drones blew up that very expensive equipment. That was a great video. That is how Ukraine rolls. They've done that with other drones and even equipment like a self propelled 50 caliber machine gun that can fire 360 degrees even in rough terrain that is guided like a drone. Another drone is up above seeing where it needs to concentrate fire. Really cool, scares the Russians silly because they are using sub machine guns against it and it keeps firing and it also saves UA lives. We will see great things come from Ukraine's defense industry once they start it back up.
the last time a new leopard2 tank entered service in the German military was in 1992. the production line lay dormant for many years. it's being revived just now for the Leo2A8
@@embreis2257 Which is COMPLETELY wrong. Germany now has over 100 Leopard 2 A7V. I leave it up to you to find out since when they are produced... The leopard is the only european main battle tank that went NEVER out of production. Unlike Challenger 2 or Leclerc, they are being produced until this very day.
@@dude861 the 2A7 in the German army were not newly built units but older models converted into 2A7s (e.g. from Canada), thus my statement is still correct. the assembly line didn't disappear completely only thanks to foreign orders.
Props to those mechanics, they have to deal with what has become the most diverse variety of armor on earth. They got soviet tanks, soviet tanks modified by European, “modern”Russian tanks donated by Princess Putin at Izyum, German tanks, British tanks, American tanks, Swedish tanks. That’s just all the tanks, they they have all the IFV’s, APC’s & Mraps from just as many different countries. The fact that they keep everything up and running without help from western contractors is incredible
@@Imprudentman So by soon you mean when they remember how great it was to throw the Ruzzian invaders from their territory and then die of old age. Yeah.
@@u.s.1974 I don’t know who the Ruzzians are and what planet they are from. But I won’t give even a cent for the lives of these people if they don’t leave Ukraine for the USA, Western Europe or Canada. In Russia, most likely, they will face criminal prosecution. And the fact that Kharkov and Kyiv will be Russian cities, I have no doubt about it.
Great report. I served on the M109A2 in the 80's. I have fired the ICM round. It has 60 grenades, that hit the ground and "bounce" up 4-6 feet and then explode. The ICM was much denser footprint. The DPICM has a center and outer ring, it is pretty good coverage, but some charges are directional, and leaves some areas "safer" than others. While in W. Germany, I saw a 6 gun battery, fire 3 rounds each of ICM on a hillside... The devastation was incredible. Anything in its footprint, was shredded.
Hits the bull's eye at 4 kilometres that is some serious long-range accuracy..Thank You Germany Your support for the Ukrainians will go down in history as a true supporter of freedom and democracy.
We'd do more if it weren't for Chancellor Scholl. Sending TAURUS cruise missiles for example. They are basically the same as Storm Shadow/SCALP but specialized to take out structural targets like dug-in bunkers or ports but especially bridges ;-) . They have a range of 500km (ca.350m).
TAURUS is better tho. It was made to only take out buildings underground. It can be programmed to explode at a certain floor level to destroy that comepletely.@@chrissmith2114
My Grandad was an aeroplane mechanic (but he worked on *everything* in the Fleet Air Arm of The Royal Navy in WWII. He never bought a drink wherever he found a military pilot for the rest of his life. Those in the services love their mechanics, and we should all admire them. My Grandad used to say “If we can’t repair it, the Big Guy couldn’t resurrect it!”
If you start a war and use cluster munitions you're an animal. If you are defending yourself, your family, your culture and homeland and use cluster munitions you are fully justified. Best wishes to Ukraine from Ireland!
I agree, unless someone ever develops a cluster munitions with a 0% dud rate and if they then use said cluster munitions in a place with no civilians and such then I can understand but such a thing does not currently exist to my knowledge
But watch out for sacrosanct critics thousands of miles away with two-bit opinion. Like Amnesty International who think Ukrainians should fight in open fields.
I am still praying 🙏🙏 everyday for you. May God send His mighty warrior Angels ahead of you to fight the battles on your behalf. Ukranian people are the best defenders in the world Slava Ukraine. 🇺🇲❤️🇺🇦
Indeed, also it helps that the Kyiv of old was home to St.Olga of Kiev, the most badass saint in history, look her up if you have the time, she wiped out entire cities for revenge of her husband's murder, she was also incredibly cunning as well!
The Leopard was designed to fight Russians. With M109 and Cluster Munitions it's just the same. These things finally do what they were built for after being useless for so many years.
I think about this a lot whenever I see American hardware being destroyed in Ukraine. Since the likelihood of any piece of heavy kit getting destroyed in defense of our homeland is basically 0, surely there can be no more honorable death of a piece of kit than in the hands of a smaller eastern European country defending itself from Russian aggression?
There is 10 times more Russian hardware destroyed than US hardware. Also the U.S. has sent far more hardware compared to other countries. Obvious you would see more U.S. hardware damaged.
I get what you're trying to say. On the other hand Germany is in NATO for several decades and as a German its not an unusual sight to see US military and their gear train side by side in my country to counter a possible attack by the Soviet Union/Russia. So after all those decades this gear is put into action to do just that - without the original crews of course.
It’s a slow process but it’s a process and someday it WILL be over and with total success!!! Prayers for all your soldiers and the Ukrainian civilians in the entire country going up !! Stay strong and safe brothers and sisters
As a german I have to say i'm proud the Leo2A6 helps and hopefully keeps this crew safe until the end, but I don't know a single german, who would say it's the best tank in the world. 😬
As an American Bradley Cav guy, all I can say is: Their Maint teams are the GOAT. No maintenance section in NATO could repair that many different NATO vehicles under 1 roof, much less add bootlegged Warsaw Pact vehicles to their resume of -30/40 level services too.
We are going to learn SO much from people like these maintainers that have been working on all these systems from various western partners in regards to which design is best for certain things in terms of serviceability, survivability, etc. I have a _ton_ of respect for them and the challenge of learning about and working on so many varied military vehicles
O hello, hello artillery! King of Battle, follow me! I was a lifer 13Bangbang and this machine is one hell of a lethal tool for warfighting. STEELRAIN!
Inb4 vatniks: B-but Leopards were destroyed! 6 destroyed, with their crews escaping alive. In the meantime Russia lost more than 50 tanks from different T-series with their crews as usual vaporized as the turret goes off on a space mission.
I hope you get all the weapons and help you need quickly. You're all doing a tremendous job. Love and prayers from Uk 🇬🇧 Slava Ukraini forever!!!🇺🇦💙💛❤️💪
Even though they're technically banned, both the UK and US have sent shed loads of cluster munitions to Ukraine as they're extremely effective in the type of combat that the Ukrainians are taking part in. For Ukraine, any available weapon will help them either force the Russians back or eliminate them.
For the sake of Ukraine's country, we sincerely give all kinds of help because we also hate Russia very much And this is the right time to provide our various types of weapons for Ukraine's ✊🇺🇦 🟦🟦🟦 🟨🟨🟨 SLAVA UKRAINE SOLDIER AND UKRAINE PEOPLE 🆓🇺🇦🙋♂️
As an old retired artilleryman it pleases me to see the M109 still going strong. And it especially pleases me to see the Ukrainians "making it a driving bush". Artillery needs to stay stationary for longer periods than anyone is comfortable with, so doing everything you can to thwart aerial detection is crucial. That they're running as small external ammo caches as possible is also perfectly by the book. I saw drone footage of a Ukrainian strike drone that took out a gigantic Russian ammo cache while the spotter drone recorded it. The nearby Pion, a farm house, a barn and a machine building were turned into confetti so violently that the leaves blew off the trees maybe a hundred meters from the epicenter. Keep doing it stupid Russia, and keep running it by the book Defenders!
The Ukraine Soldiers deserved the Leopard 2 A6 because they are great Soldiers. If you speak about our German Leopard 2 A6 do not forget his little brother the Marder only togheter they are very strong.
Great that the donated weapons are appreciated and put to good use - now send more: More Leopards, more Howitzers, more APC'es, better long range fires and more ammunition! And importantly, ramp production of all these items in the western countries, mainly in the EU and within Ukraine itself.
The Leopard 2A6 is not the best tank in the world but one of the best and in some situations it may be the best tank, while in other situations and circumstances other tanks are better.
Leopard A6 uses the L/55 smoothbore gun with 30% more penetration power than the L/44. The Americans have not been able to implement the L/55 in their tanks. Americans use depleted uranium ammunition to balance out the lack of penetration power. Imagine a Leopard A6 with depleted uranium ammunition though...
Does it really matter though? What I mean is my understanding is both can pretty much pen any current vehicle, it's just a matter of who sees who first. So if anything, improvements should come from better optics and sensors.
From what I've read they did't see the need for an L/55 upgrade because depleted uraniumshells roughly equal out L/55 with regular shells and there was no need for higher values. Leopard1 with L/44 would be an interesting glascannon.
It's awe-inspiring to witness the collaboration of nations, each contributing their armor and expertise to support Ukraine. The diverse range of tanks and artillery working in harmony showcases unity and determination. 🌍🤝 The dedication of the mechanics ensuring these war machines are battle-ready is truly commendable. 🛠💪 Keep going, "Iron Cavalry"! 🇺🇦✨
The 47th and 82nd are extremely professional in their duties. Progress made in the south is hard-won by the best of the best. May fortune favor their advance.