Leopard 2A5
Leopard 2A5: Main Battle Tank
Statistics
Main gun: 120mm Rheinmetall L44
Ammunition Stowage: 15 ready/27 stowed
Default Ammunition "A": 9/16 DM33 APFSDS, 6/11 DM12 HEAT
Coaxial machine gun: 7.62mm MG3
Ammunition Stowage: 500 ready/4250 stowed
Default Ammunition: 500/4250 7.62mm NATO
Grenade Dischargers: Grenades
Ammunition Stowage: 26 ready/8 stowed*
Default Ammunition: 12/6 Smoke, 4/2 HE
- The HE grenades represent single rounds, but the smoke is fired as salvos using the left/right dischargers. The scenario editor should reduce the ready smoke to 2 shots.
Armour protection:
Frontal Turret Armour: 860mm-970mm KE, 1720-2000mm HEAT
Frontal Hull Armour: 600mm KE, 710mm HEAT
(from SB documentation)
Equipped with spall liners
Combat Mass: 59.5 tonnes
Engine Power: 1500hp MTU MB 873 Ka-501 V-12 diesel
Length: 7.72m (Hull)
Width: 3.74m
Height 2.79m
Top Speed: 72kph
General
The Leopard 2A5 is an upgrade to the German Leopard 2A4 fleet under the KWS II development program undertaken by Germany, the Netherlands, and Switzerland in October of 1991. The basic modifications involved:
- Fitting the turret front and sides with distinctive wedge-shaped add-on armour sections.
- A redesign of the gun manlet and relocation of the FERO Z-18 auxiliary sight to the mantlet top.
- Raising the EMES-15 to the turret top in a new armored housing and filling the resultant gap to reinforce the right turret face.
- Adding a new electrically driven sliding hatch for the driver.
- Spall liners for the crew compartment.
- Upgrading the commander's periscope to the PERI-17A2 with an independent thermal sight channel and relocating it to the left rear of the commander's station.
- Other minor changes such as a back up camera for the driver, additional stowage on the turret sides and rear, and a GPS navigation system.
The Leopard 2A5 shares all of these upgrades with Denmark's later Leopard 2A5DK, but lacks that vehicle's enhanced hull armour, along with a few other minor differences.
As with other Leopard 2s, the 'A5 stores most of its ammunition in the hull, and is very vulnerable during the transfer of rounds from the secondary storage into the ready racks, as the turret must be rotated to the right rear and the vehicle cannot fight. Additionally, the default DM33 ammunition lacks long-range penetration for consistent effect against modernized OPFOR tanks, such as the T-80U and T-90S.
Beginning with revision 4.156 the Leopard 2A5 may be equipped with the Diehl Active Vehicle Protection System (AVePS) to enhance protection against RPG and ATGM threats.
Thermal Signature
Crew Positions
Please visit the Leopard 2A5DK page for detailed information on the Leopard 2A5's crew positions since both tanks are functionally identical.