- Yes
- No
History and introduction
In may of 2008, Greece commissioned its first series of the brand new Leopard 2HEL, a top of the line MBT not just in Greece but also the rest of the world.
The Hellenic armoured forces had been growing steadily outdated in terms of performance armour and firepower, and with the rise of their competitors armoured fighting vehicle programs such as the Altay MBT, they only realised more and more about the need for comparable armoured platforms.
Thus, began a series of extended talks between Greece and Germany, to purchase a high-end model of the Leopard 2 platform. Around 2005, the Leopard 2HEL designation and requirements were defined. The Leopard 2HEL was extensively trialled in Germany as it rolled off the assembly lines. Soon after, the MBTs were shipped to Greece for user trials. 40 of the Leopard 2HEL were built in Germany, while contract allowed the rest of the 140 MBTs to be assembled in Greece, thus the worlds most capable MBT, the Leopard 2HEL, known also as the Leopard 2A6GR in German hands and otherwise, came to be born.
What distinguishes the Greek Leopard is that it was based upon one of the most interesting and vital German tank programs in the history of the Leopard 2 MBT. The infamous German Leopard 2A6EX. The MBT that was born from this, the Leopard 2HEL, was a direct successor to the 2A6EX but featured some minor improvements over the prototype such as Rheinmetall’s Iniochos command-and-control system, a Zeiss Ophelios thermal camera, a roof-mounted meteorology sensor, improved top-attack protection, and full air-conditioning. The Euro-power pack was also considered alongside 3rd generation TVD but these were dropped because of time, cost and integration reasons.
The whole program was a close collaboration between the Hellenic armed forces and Germany and it ended up with Greece having, for its time, the single most capable MBT in the entire world, more than even the top end German Leopard 2A6 in terms of firepower and more than the top end Swedish Strv-122s in terms of protection.
Firepower
Leopard 2HEL equipped with L/55 smoothbore cannon which allows to fire different ammunition:
Ammunition
DM-12A1
DM-63/A1 (post penetration incendiary effect)
DM-53/A1 (post penetration incendiary effect)
DM-43
DM-33
RH-31
Also with this Leopard 2HEL gets upgraded thermals called “Ophelios” which have second gen (for commander and gunner)
Protection
Protection of this Leopard is pretty similar to the STRV-122 series as uses it same the Mexas-H protection package all around. (It was done by Leopard 2a6ex demo 1)
Mobility
Greece was impressed by addition MTU 883 Ka-501 engine (1630 h. p. like leopard 2a6ex demo 2 and leopard 2PSO have) , but it was rejected by financial reasons. So we have standard leopard engine…
Engine: MTU MT 873 Ka-501 V-block 12-cylinder liquid-cooled diesel engine
Power: 1500 hp
Transmission: RENK HTWL 354, 4 speed forward/2 reverse
Top Speed: 68 km/h
Weight: 62.5 t
Power to weight: 24 hp/t
Suspension: Torsion bar
Sources
German main battle tank Leopard 2: stages of development. Part of 10
Отличия танков Леопард-2
Gesamtwerk Leopard 2