Latest Leo

Well I found 4 sources :

"Leopard 2A8 is the most recent version. It is armed with a 120 mm/L55 gun. The tank uses Trophy active protection system. It is reportedly fitted with a 1 600 hp engine."

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" To replace the 18 Leopard 2A6 tanks handed over to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the German Ministry of Defence is expected to purchase a batch of at least 18 Leopard 2A8 tanks (with option for several hundred). The plans still have to be approved by the German parliament due to the contract exceeding a value of €25 million.

Italian government confirmed during a Parliament audition that Italy intends to purchase up to 250 Leopard 2A8 tanks over 2023-2025 period.

The Leopard 2A8 will be based on the current Leopard 2A7HU production model but feature additional improvements; among them the integration of the Trophy APS and an all-round situational awareness system with sensor-fusion capability.

The Dutch MoD is planning on procuring up to 52 Leopard 2A8 tanks in addition to their 18 leased Leopard 2A6 tanks. This planned acquisition is part of the nation's effort to rebuild their army after severe budget cuts of the 21st century.

The Czech Ministry of Defense is negotiating with Germany the purchase of 70-77 Leopard 2A8, including domestic manufacturing rights for aspects of the tank production.

Leopard 2A8 NOR

The Norwegian armed forces' order of 54 Leopard 2A7NOs was changed into a new 2A8 NOR variant by the middle of June 2023. A variety of Norwegian changes and alterations necessitated the renaming of the original 2A7NO into a unique new 2A8 NOR variant. This subvariant mainly differs from the German 2A8 by integrating Norwegian-designed and manufactured Kongsberg ICS/CORTEX battlefield management systems and a Protector RWS.  "

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The German government plans to purchase 18 Leopard 2 tanks to replace the Leopard 2A6, which the country has already transferred to Ukraine as part of a military aid package, Bloomberg reports with reference to sources in the Ministry of Defense.

The budget committee in the lower house of parliament is expected to approve the initial order of 18 tanks — worth about €525 million — at the end of this month.

The Bundeswehr is poised to order 18 Leopard 2 tanks with an option for 105 more at a total cost of around €2.9 billion.

According to the German publication Europaische Sicherheit & Technik, the Bundeswehr will for the first time order the Leopard 2A8 tanks produced by the German Krauss-Maffei Wegmann. The new tanks should enter the German army as early as 2025.

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The German Leopard 2A8 will be equipped with the active protection system (APS) Trophy. This emerges from the draft contract, which was attached to the EUR 25 million proposal approved by the Budget Committee of the German Bundestag on May 24. With the contract, the Bundeswehr is procuring 18 Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks as a replacement for the delivery to Ukraine and opens up the possibility of ordering a further 105 main battle tanks, not only through the Bundeswehr.

The development stage "Leopard 2A8" was introduced with the said contract. The opening of the contract for international customers has led to corresponding activities in the Czech Republic, Lithuania and Italy. The potential – including the existing orders from Hungary, Norway and Germany – is almost 400 Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks over the next ten years.

EuroTrophy has now announced that the main contractor for the main battle tank, KNDS (Krauss-Maffei Wegmann 'KMW'+NEXTER Defense Systems), will supply the Trophy systems for the Leopard 2A8 for Germany and beyond for the 54 main battle tanks , which Norway ordered. The APS Trophy has thus been selected as part of the new standard configuration "Leopard 2 A8".

EuroTrophy describes itself as the European center of the APS Trophy. The Germany-based company is the only provider of a European-made, battle-tested, NATO-deployed active protection system. The company also offers a wide range of services such as B. Support for vehicle integration, maintenance and the associated commissioning as well as support throughout the life cycle of his APS.

According to Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, one of the shareholders of EuroTrophy, Trophy is the most successful active protection system to be integrated into western main battle tanks such as the Leopard 2, Abrams M1 and Merkava IV, as well as lighter platforms such as the Namer APC and other wheeled and tracked armored personnel carriers was integrated.

In addition to the APS Trophy, the Leopard 2A8 is characterized by modern optronics of the latest generation and a reinforced drive.

And photos too .... so... yup, Duke, that's another one