Footage has confirmed that at least one of the German-supplied Leopard 2A6 main battle tanks captured from Ukrainian forces has been sent to Russia’s main tank manufacturing facility, Uralvagonzavod, for study. Russian media outlets have reported that specialists are analysing the tank’s components, systems, and subsystems for intelligence on its capabilities, including “to assess the actual military-technical level of various systems and the captured vehicle itself.” Unlike Ukraine’s American supplied M1A1 Abrams tanks, which have also been captured in the past, Leopard 2A6 tanks sent to the country were not built specifically for export, and were instead taken directly from German Army stockpiles, meaning the vehicles are expected to integrate more sensitive technologies. The Leopard 2 is by far the most widely used tank class in NATO, with 15 NATO member states currently operating the vehicles, while several more either have the tanks on order or are expected to place their first orders. This includes Finland, which joined the alliance in April 2023 and fields over 200 of the vehicles, including 100 newer Leopard 2A6 variants. Thus information on the tank class’ strengths and weaknesses gained from access to a modern variant is expected to be highly prized by the Russian Armed Forces. Russian forces have also captured older Leopard 2A4 tanks, which have been delivered to Ukraine in much greater numbers, although the obsolete vehicles are not expected to provide significant intelligence of value.
Leopard 2A6 tanks were first deployed on the frontlines in June 2023 during mass Ukrainian offensives against Russian frontline units, and in the subsequent days were quickly filmed taking heavy losses. The capture of multiple tanks has been confirmed on video, with footage released by Russian Army units on the frontlines near the strategically located town of Avdiivka in early September showing the recovery of a disabled Leopard 2A6 and a more heavily damaged M1A1 Abrams tank. This followed the publication of footage on April 21 confirming the capture of another Leopard 2A6. While Russia produces tank classes that are considerably more advanced than the Leopard 2A6, and the benefits of reverse engineering their technologies is expected to be limited, the ability to better understand the tank’s performance strengths and limitations is particularly valuable for any possible future confrontation with NATO, and could be passed on to strategic partners such as Syria and Belarus which also face hostile NATO members armed with Leopard 2s on their borders.
A number of the Ukrainian Army’s remaining Leopard 2 tanks have participated in offensives into the Russian Kursk region from early August, with footage confirming the destruction of these vehicles. The vehicles have largely been reserved for elite units such as the 47th Mechanised Brigade, with their participation in offensives against Russian positions being a particularly sensitive issue for Moscow due to the historical memory of German tanks’ role in spearheading a German led European invasion from 1941. In January it was confirmed that the majority of Leopard 2s operated by the Ukrainian Army had been rendered inoperable in combat with Russian forces, with over one quarter totally destroyed and the remainder damaged beyond the Army’s ability to repair them. Foreign Affairs was among the sources to highlight at the time that the tanks had proven to be “hardly invulnerable superweapons.” “Of the fewer than 100 Leopard 2s in Ukrainian service, at least 26 have been knocked out; others cannot be used due to repair and maintenance issues,” the paper noted. The impact on the tank class’ reputation is expected to negatively impact its export profile outside the Western world.
