World

What makes the Leopard 2 so powerful compared to other Western tanks?

Published

1 year ago

January 28, 2023

What makes the Leopard 2 so powerful compared to other Western tanks?

Following weeks of mounting political stress from in and out of doors the nation, Germany has agreed to ship Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, a doable turning level for the embattled nation in its gruelling, protracted struggle towards Russia.

Germany will present Kyiv with 14 Leopard 2 tanks and associated ammunition from its nationwide shares, in addition to the required coaching to function them on the battlefield. It’ll additionally permit the export of those German-made tanks by different Western international locations that want to be a part of the worldwide coalition.

“This resolution follows our well-known line of supporting Ukraine to the very best of our capability,” stated German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in a press release.

However what precisely makes the Leopard 2 tanks so necessary?

The Leopards are developed by Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW), a Munich-based defence firm, and are utilized by a number of European international locations, together with Poland, Spain, Greece, Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Switzerland, in addition to others like Canada and Turkey.

Based on KMW, there are 4 fashions of Leopard 2: A4, A5, A6 and the newest addition, the A7+, which the corporate describes because the “world’s most superior most important battle tank.”

Germany’s resolution will contain the A6 model, which has a most pace of 70 km/h, a variety of 450 kilometres, a 120 mm smooth-bore cannon and seven.62 mm machine gun.

The Leopard is “fairly highly effective with regard to firepower. So, it will possibly fireplace fairly a protracted vary with several types of ammunition which you could principally form in direction of your goal, so what you need to hit, you’ll be able to select several types of ammunition for that,” Dr. Christian Mölling, head of the Centre for Safety and Defence on the German Council on Overseas Relations (DGAP), advised Euronews.

“It has a really superior armour, which can be necessary for the tank crews. If you do not have to worry that any shot that hits you signifies that you principally go up in flames, it is fairly one thing that helps you psychologically.”

“And third level is manoeuvre,” Mölling added. “It is fairly a speedy automobile. So this additionally offers you a sure tactical benefit in shifting out and in fairly quick, but additionally crossing distances in a fairly quick vary.”

Logistically talking, the Leopards current a key benefit over America’s M1 Abrams and the British Challenger 2: bigger shares.

“It is spare elements, it is restore, upkeep, and overhaul that must be executed. And there the pool of Leopard is far greater,” Mölling stated.

“Even just by cannibalising all of the tanks, you’ll be able to acquire spare elements. So, the amount of choices that it’s important to function them is far simpler. It is a lot, a lot increased.”

Ukraine estimates it wants 300 Western tanks to launch a counteroffensive that may push Russia again to the pre-war strains.

KMW says it has to date delivered 3,500 Leopard items around the globe, however Western international locations need to guarantee their very own navy capabilities will not be weakened by continued deliveries to Kyiv.

The oldest fashions of Leopards are the likeliest to be despatched to Kyiv, whereas European governments work to improve the remaining tanks or purchase the newest accessible model, Mölling stated.

“You’ll have to make a really fast resolution on the refill. On the identical time, it’s important to resolve which kind of tanks you suppose make an necessary navy distinction sooner or later, which can be extra difficult by the Ukraine conflict,” he added.

“Logistical sustainability in a serious conflict is a headache and is usually a nightmare, even to the preventing forces, as a result of they’re left with out that gear if the logistics do not work.”

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World

Video: Young People Demand Change Ahead of Britain’s Election

Published

3 hours ago

June 30, 2024

Press Room

Video: Young People Demand Change Ahead of Britain’s Election

Many young people feel disillusioned by politics in the United Kingdom, as the country readies for a pivotal general election after 14 years of Conservative governments. Megan Specia, an international correspondent for The New York Times based in London, spoke with young voters in the northern English cities of Liverpool and Manchester to hear their perspectives on the election.

World

1 confirmed dead after severe rain causes roof collapse at India's New Delhi airport

Published

4 hours ago

June 30, 2024

Press Room

1 confirmed dead after severe rain causes roof collapse at India's New Delhi airport

One person was killed after a portion of the canopy at New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport’s departure terminal collapsed on Friday.
The collapse occurred due to monsoon rains that lashed the Indian capital, officials say.
Six others were injured during the collapse.

A portion of a canopy at a departure terminal at New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport in India collapsed Friday as monsoon rains lashed the Indian capital, killing one person and injuring six others, officials said.

All flight departures from Terminal 1 were temporarily suspended as rescuers cleared the debris to rescue anyone trapped there, the airport authority said.

Terminal 1 is used for domestic operations at New Delhi’s main airport.

DEATH TOLL LINKED TO METHANOL-LACED LIQUOR ILLEGALLY BREWED IN INDIA RISES TO 47

The fire services control room said the injured were taken to a hospital.

A crew inspects the damage to a part of a departure terminal canopy at New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport that collapsed in heavy pre-monsoon rains in New Delhi, India, on June 28, 2024. (AP Photo)

“Due to heavy rain since early this morning, a portion of the canopy of the old departure forecourt” collapsed at around 5 a.m., an airport authority statement said.

In addition to the roof, some support beams also collapsed, damaging cars in the pickup and drop-off area at the terminal, the Press Trust of India news agency said.

One of the six injured people was rescued from a car on which an iron beam had fallen, PTI said.

Anees Khan, a taxi driver, said he was sleeping in his car. “Around 5:30 in the morning there was a very loud lightning sound. When I got out, I saw that the roof had collapsed and there were around eight to 10 cars under it.”

Civil Aviation Minister K. Rammohan Naidu visited the airport and said boarding operations at the damaged terminal were being shifted to two other terminals.

He told reporters that a thorough inspection of the damaged structure was being carried out.

An IndiGo airline official said passengers inside the terminal had already boarded their flights and those booked on flights later in the day would be offered alternatives.

Friday’s rain was the first big shower of the monsoon season in New Delhi, the India Meteorological Department said. It flooded New Delhi streets, causing traffic snarls. The monsoon season lasts until the end of September.

According to the department, as much as 9 inches of rain fell in New Delhi in the past 24 hours, nearly three times the amount the city usually receives in the entire month of June. The intense rain follows a punishing heatwave that claimed at least 100 lives across India, including in New Delhi.

India is among the most vulnerable regions in the world to the effects of climate change. A report by the Reserve Bank of India earlier this year found it could cost more than $1 trillion by 2030 for the country to adapt to the changes. Climate experts say monsoon rains have become more erratic, resulting in extreme rainfall events that cause landslides and flooding.

World

Norway's LQBTQ community party at the Pride parade in Oslo

Published

5 hours ago

June 30, 2024

Press Room

Norway's LQBTQ community party at the Pride parade in Oslo

According to the Brussels-based NGO ILGA-Europe, Norway this year ranks the 8th best state in Europe for the LGBTQ community.

Revellers took to the streets of central Oslo this weekend to celebrate the city’s annual pride parade as June’s Pride Month draws to a close.

The two-hour march ended on Saturday at the so-called Pride Park, in the central Sofienbergparken.

Oslo Pride is Norway’s largest celebration of love and diversity and focusses on equal rights and human dignity.

It’s created by around 80 year-round volunteers with around 300 extra getting involved during the nine-day festival.

According to the Brussels-based NGO ILGA-Europe, Norway this year ranks the 8th best state in Europe for the LGBTQ community. The index takes into account the legal, political and social environment for LGBTQ people in each country in Europe.

However during 2022’s festival, a homophobic gunman opened fire in Oslo’s nightlife district, killing two people and wounding 20 others.

Heavy police presence at Pride parade in Greece

Meanwhile, in Greece, around 15,000 people attended the annual EuroPride parade on Saturday, police said, in support of the LGBTQ+ community in the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki but police had to come out in large numbers to keep the parade safe.

“This participation from across Europe sends a message,” parade participant Michalis Filippidis told reporters. “It is very, very good. We are all united like a fist and, despite many things happening, we are all here to fight for our rights.”

There was a heavy police presence to prevent demonstrations against the parade. In the end, police said, 15 people were detained for shouting obscenities at parade participants and, in one case, trying to throw eggs at them.