Germany's Leopard II Main Battle Tank Leaves Much to be Desired in Iraq Operations

The reputation of Germany's Leopard II tanks, previously considered near invulnerable, has been seriously undermined by their recent performance with the Turkish armed forces in Iraq. Heavily relied on by NATO forces and operated extensively by Germany and 12 other European nations, as well as Singapore, Qatar, Chile, Canada and Indonesia, the Leopard II was expected to match the most modern Russian technology in a potential conflict in Europe, with 3,500 tanks currently in service. With over 350 tanks operated by the Turkish military, the tanks have been used extensively in their operations in Iraq and Syria against Islamic State forces. Their performance has however left much to be desired.

In the battle for the Iraqi city of Al Bab Turkish forces lost 10 Leopard II tanks in combat, very high losses against a militant group with little in the way of armour or air power of its own. Islamic State forces managed to destroy tanks by targeting their turrets and causing the ammunition inside to explode, and using these tactics took a significant toll on Turkish forces. With such heavy losses against relatively poorly armed insurgents, the question arises as to the feasibility of these German weapons systems in a war with a modern military adversary with its own armour and with far more advanced anti-tank capabilities than those available to the Islamic State. While Germany has taken steps to modify its tanks to compensate for these vulnerabilities, considering that the capabilities of NATO's potential adversaries are many times greater than those of IS, European tank divisions may find themselves highly vulnerable in future wars. With the Leopard II widely considered the most potent of all Western tank designs, not only is NATO's ability to wage a ground war put to serious question, but potential clients may well be put off and seek alternative sources for their battle tanks. Turkey's acquisition of South Korean battle tanks, perhaps the most lethal in the world, may well be a sign of a growing trend in this regard. The failure of the Leopard II could bode well for rival platforms such as the Korean K2 Black Panther or Japanese Type 10, highly sophisticated platforms incorporating next generation technologies which could well push Western developers out of their traditional markets.