Well...i'm not a tankie, merely a Leo 2 tank mechanic , but i will chip in anyways .. I know we have had a good look at the NG upgrade, or parts of it, as a possible MLU for our LEO 2 A5DK's. According to the tech guys from the army combat school( Land Warfare Center)the new fire control components and turret electronics are actually pretty impressive and supposedly fully up to US/ european standards. It takes up less space while at the same time being significantly more advanced then the original components (incl those on A5/A6 wich is of 90's vintage). It's also more modular so easier to repair/upgrade.Same goes for the optronics package, though not sure if thermal imaging is quite up to the latest US spec.
The add-on armor is called AMAP and is made by a german company (IBD Deisenroth) and is primarily against CE ( hollow-charge) weapons. IBD also designed and produced the original LEO 2 A5 armor ( the so called wedge armor ) MEXAS-H. The Gun, drivetrain ,suspension and vetronics are still the original A4 from the 80's though, and especially the vetronics is in bad need of an overhaul/ complete changeout, being strictly analog and increasingly unreliable.
Overall i think its a really good ( and much needed)upgrade and the price is supposedly pretty cheap atleast compared to KMW's A4 upgrade( the A4M CAN that canada (just bought) is it better than an A6? in some ways yes ... it has less firepower (L44 vs L55 caliber) but better FCS and SA. The A6 is a tank killer , the NG is more suited to urban combat and infantry support roles.
Well...i'm not a tankie, merely a Leo 2 tank mechanic , but i will chip in anyways ..
ReplyDeleteI know we have had a good look at the NG upgrade, or parts of it, as a possible MLU for our LEO 2 A5DK's.
According to the tech guys from the army combat school( Land Warfare Center)the new fire control components and turret electronics are actually pretty impressive and supposedly fully up to US/ european standards. It takes up less space while at the same time being significantly more advanced then the original components (incl those on A5/A6 wich is of 90's vintage). It's also more modular so easier to repair/upgrade.Same goes for the optronics package, though not sure if thermal imaging is quite up to the latest US spec.
The add-on armor is called AMAP and is made by a german company (IBD Deisenroth) and is primarily against CE ( hollow-charge) weapons.
IBD also designed and produced the original LEO 2 A5 armor ( the so called wedge armor ) MEXAS-H.
The Gun, drivetrain ,suspension and vetronics are still the original A4 from the 80's though, and especially the vetronics is in bad need of an overhaul/ complete changeout, being strictly analog and increasingly unreliable.
Overall i think its a really good ( and much needed)upgrade and the price is supposedly pretty cheap atleast compared to KMW's A4 upgrade( the A4M CAN that canada (just bought)
is it better than an A6? in some ways yes ...
it has less firepower (L44 vs L55 caliber)
but better FCS and SA.
The A6 is a tank killer , the NG is more suited to urban combat and infantry support roles.