The Leopard 2A6 is the latest in German engineering in tank warfare. It is a series of upgrades, modifications and re-designs of the original Leopard 2 which originally entered service in the 1970s. The 2A6M (The latest of its generation) is equipped with a higher amount of protection against mines and is being used in Afghanistan. The 2A6 is currently in use by various countries which include Germany, Netherlands, Canada, Greece, Spain and Portugal.

Armaments

Leopard 2A6 is equipped with a Rheinmetall L55 120mm (Which is an upgrade from the L44 main gun which is in use by the USM1A2) main gun which can fire various ammunition types developed by several countries to meet the requirements of their armoured forces.  – The main gun is also equipped with enough ammunition to fire 44 rounds through its auto-load system. The gun also fires a 7.62 mm coxial machine gun which like most other modern tanks has mounted next to the main gun itself. While a 7.62 mm machine gun sits mounted onto the turret.

Future

There are future variants of the Leopard 2 and this would go to include the Leopard 2E which is a developed Leopard 2 with better protection which has had its armour package upgraded in a co-operational development between Spain and Germany.