German tank Leopard 2 He was considered a murderer, until he went to fight in Syria, where he has become a victim, пишет The National Interest.
In the early 2000s, Germany has sold Turkey 354 Tank Leopard 2A4, which at that time represented a serious force. For a long time they were on the north of the country and only in the autumn 2016 year were transferred to the Syrian border to take part in the operation "of the Euphrates Shield", directed against Kurdish militias.
2A4 was the last modification of the Leopard tank 2 the Cold War. Model was intended to counter the Soviet tanks and was not designed for the application of anti-tank and VCA fighters. Armor tanks provide rather weak protection against anti-tank missiles.
At the end of 2016 there is evidence that the web, that in the battle for Al-Bab were killed at least 10 "Leopard". According to resources, five cars were destroyed by anti-tank missiles, two - založennymi SVU, one - gunfire, Two more lost for unknown reasons at the time,.
In this case, the magazine notes, that most of the tanks were destroyed by missiles "Metis" and "Competition". According to the author, this contributed to the specifics of the use of tanks, Turks are positioned in the rear "as the long-range weapons". As a result, armored vehicles, left without cover, It turned out to be extremely vulnerable.
Such tactics at that time has already shown to be ineffective in Yemen, where the Saudis have lost a large number of machines.
At the same time, newspaper writes, more modern Leopard 2A6M with enhanced protection from mines has worked well during the war in Afghanistan: tanks crews praised the mobility and shooting accuracy.