The last German-made Hungarian Leopard 2A7HU tank was bid farewell in Munich on December 9 with a Hungarian flag, and it departed for Hungary with Hungarian insignia. As part of the military force development program, Hungary acquired 44 of the world’s most modern tanks.
“We manufactured tanks tailored to the Hungarian Defense Forces’ own requirements. The model shown here was also assembled according to Hungarian standards, including the communications equipment,” Mario Gall, program director of KNDS, a joint venture between German and French land defense systems manufacturers, told Honvedelem.hu prior to departure.
Photo: Honvedelem.hu
“We usually transport the tank on public roads, using the semi-trailer and tractor unit (…). The problem with this special trailer is that its load is oversized, and we can only transport it at night so as not to obstruct traffic. The biggest challenge is when we encounter road construction during transport, hence we always coordinate in advance with the highway authority, that allows us to pass through the road construction area, sometimes with traffic diversions,” explained the program director.
Photo: Honvedelem.hu
Incidentally, the December 9 transport did not only include the tank; its weapon station and spare parts arrived in Tata (northwestern Hungary) on another vehicle.
The package also included over two hundred special photographic parts lists and maintenance manuals so that maintenance personnel can easily identify the individual components of the military equipment even years later.
Since the arrival of the first Leopard 2A7HU on December 6, 2023, Leguan bridge layer and technical rescue combat vehicles based on the same model have also arrived in Hungary from the Munich site. However, the cooperation is not limited to the manufacture of equipment; the German company also supports the Hungarian Defense Forces with services.
Photo: Honvedelem.hu
The special tank’s armored body is 7.7 meters long, and with the gun facing forward, it is 10.97 meters long. Without additional armor, it is 3.76 meters wide and 3.03 meters high. The firepower of the Leopard 2A7HU tank is provided by an L55A1 Rheinmetall tank gun with a barrel length of L55 and a caliber of 120 millimeters. The upgraded L55A1 tank gun can effectively engage enemy targets at a range of up to 5,000 meters.
The tank is also equipped with a 7.62-millimeter coaxial machine gun, a 12.7-millimeter remote-controlled machine gun, and 16 76-millimeter smoke grenade launchers, that are also capable of firing fragmentation grenades.
The tank is capable of crossing water 1.2 meters deep without preparation; with preparation, it can cross a 2.25-meter-deep ford and 4 meters of water.
Photo: Honvedelem.hu
The Hungarian Defense Forces has acquired several types of armor-piercing and multi-purpose shells for the tank’s cannon, as well as two different types of field grenades.
In addition, Hungary has signed a contract with the German company Rheinmetall for the purchase of large quantities of ammunition.
Rheinmetall Waffe Munition GmbH and the Várpalota plant, established by the Hungarian government to manufacture artillery shells, are also involved in production.
The Leopard 2A7HU tank’s armor protection is provided by composite perpendicular flat plates and sloped front armor. The combat vehicle is capable of successfully withstanding the threats posed by modern anti-armor weapons. To ensure success in combat in populated areas, a so-called 360-degree supplementary armor has been developed for the tank. This additional armor can be installed and removed as needed and provides greater protection against armor-piercing weapons in built-up areas. The tank has a crew of four: commander, gunner, loader, and driver.
Photo: Honvedelem.hu
Fact
The government announced to develop defense capabilities in 2016, and shortly afterwards launched the defense and military development program. In December 2018, the Hungarian Ministry of Defense and the German group KNDS Deutschland signed an agreement for the procurement of 44 Leopards and 24 PzH 2000 self-propelled guns to strengthen land forces. Under the contract, technical rescue and bridge-launching tracked vehicles will also be delivered to the Hungarian Defense Forces. The Leopard fleet is now complete, and the modernized armored forces are expected to be fully operational by 2028.
Via Honvedelem.hu, Featured image: Honvedelem.hu
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