{"id":58507,"date":"2025-01-25T22:44:47","date_gmt":"2025-01-25T21:44:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/?p=58507"},"modified":"2026-01-25T01:52:50","modified_gmt":"2026-01-25T00:52:50","slug":"the-future-spanish-main-battle-tanks-and-a-possible-solution-for-the-leopard-2a4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/2025\/01\/25\/the-future-spanish-main-battle-tanks-and-a-possible-solution-for-the-leopard-2a4\/","title":{"rendered":"The future Spanish main battle tanks and a possible solution for the Leopard 2A4"},"content":{"rendered":"

This Friday important news was revealed about the future of the Spanish Army's fleet of combat vehicles.<\/p>\n

Kevadtorm, the images of the armored deployment of the Spanish Army in Estonia<\/a><\/rel>
\nThe Armies of Spain and Portugal train together with armored vehicles and live fire<\/a><\/rel><\/p>\n

Yesterday, the digital newspaper Infodefensa<\/a> published the information presented by the Spanish Army this week at the International Armoured Vehicles Conference in Farnborough, United Kingdom, regarding its plans to renew its armoured fleet. The most notable news is that Spain has plans to replace its Leopard 2A4s with Leopard 2A8s<\/strong>, the most modern version of this German tank.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
A Leopard 2A8 (Photo: KNDS).<\/div>\n

The Leopard 2A8 is an improved version of the Leopard 2A7+<\/strong> already in use by the German Army. One of its main new features is the Trophy active protection system<\/strong>, developed by the Israeli company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and already in service on the Merkava MkIII and MkIV tanks of the Israeli Army.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
A Leopard 2A4 of the Spanish Army (Image: Estado Mayor de la Defensa).<\/div>\n

According to Infodefensa, the acquisition of the Leopard 2A8, in a number not yet specified, would allow the Spanish Leopard 2A4s to be decommissioned<\/strong>. The Spanish Army still has about 80 units of this version, 40 of which are distributed between Ceuta and Melilla. Another 12 are used as Enemy Units at the National Training Centre (CENAD) in San Gregorio, Zaragoza, and the rest are stored in the Logistics Support Group No. 41 (AALOG 41) in Casetas (Zaragoza).<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
Two Leopardo 2E main battle tanks (Photo: Ej\u00e9rcito de Tierra).<\/div>\n

On the other hand, today Infodefensa has added<\/a> that the current Leopard 2E tanks<\/strong> (a Spanish version with characteristics almost equivalent to those of the Leopard 2A6) would be upgraded to the Leopard 2EM version<\/strong>, with more protection around the turret and improvements in protection against mines and improvised explosive devices (IED), and perhaps a Trophy system like that of the Leopard 2A8<\/strong>. Currently, Spain has 239 Leopard 2Es spread across four brigades.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
The Army's Leopard 2A4s stored in Casetas (Zaragoza) in 2012. Some of them have been sent to Ukraine as military aid against the Russian invasion (Photo: Bolet\u00edn Tierra n\u00ba202<\/a>).<\/div>\n

Of all the information published by Infodefensa, there is one point that caught my attention: the retirement of the Leopard 2A4<\/strong>. These tanks were rented by Spain from Germany in 1998 and finally purchased in 2006. However, in view of what is happening in Ukraine, where older models (such as the Leopard 1A5) are proving to be very useful, the Leopard 2A4s continue to be a valuable asset for the Army<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
Polish Army Leopard 2PL tanks (Photo: Dow\u00f3dztwo Operacyjne<\/a>).<\/div>\n

One might ask: instead of decommissioning the Leopard 2A4s, wouldn't it make more sense to modernize them?<\/strong> Let us recall that in 2016 Rheinmetall presented an upgrade package called MBT Revolution<\/a> for this variant of the Leopard 2, designed to take advantage of the units that are active in several NATO armies. Four years later, Poland upgraded its Leopard 2A4s with a similar package<\/a>, turning them into the Leopard 2PL<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
A Canadian Army 2A4M CAN Leopard (Photo: NATO Multinational Brigade Latvia).<\/div>\n

The Canadian Army did something similar with its Leopard 2A4s,<\/strong> upgrading 20 units to the Leopard 2A4M CAN version (with new modular armour on the turret and hull). The Chilean Army has opted for a similar solution,<\/strong> in order to upgrade its main battle tanks to the Leopard 2A4CHL version. In an international situation like the one we have, it might be a good idea to consider a similar upgrade for the Spanish Leopard 2A4s,<\/strong> unless there are plans to donate them to Ukraine.<\/p>\n

---<\/p>\n

Main image: Estado Mayor de la Defensa.<\/small><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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