22 February 2024

Greece plans Leopard 1A5 upgrade

by Nicholas Fiorenza

EODH is proposing to upgrade Hellenic Army Leopard 1A5s. (EODH/Thanasis Grammatikos)

The Hellenic Army has received industry proposals for upgrading its Leopard 1A5 main battle tanks (MBTs). An EODH spokesperson confirmed to Janes that the company is among those that have presented upgrade proposals to the Greek Army Staff.

The spokesperson said EODH is working with KNDS' Krauss Maffei-Wegmann (KMW) and Spanish defence company Duma and offers a complete solution with a price and time schedule for building a prototype and acceptance testing.

EODH is proposing to remove the Leopard 1A5's Blohm & Voss armour, as well as obsolete subsystems and wiring. It does not foresee replacing the tank's 105 mm gun but rather giving it the possibility of firing guided anti-tank missiles and loitering munitions from its main armament, with the option of installing an anti-tank missile launcher.

Drawing on lessons from the Russia-Ukraine war, the Greek company is offering explosive reactive armour (ERA) weighing less than 2 tonnes, combined with additional passive armour on the rear of the tank, with the option of adding cope cage armour on the roof. The full passive and ERA package would give the tank a combat weight of 46 tonnes, requiring the reinforcement of the tank's suspension, with EODH proposing replacing its 830 hp engine with a more powerful 1,000 hp one and offering the possibility of new tracks.

EODH is also proposing to install a remote weapon station (RWS) with a heavy machine gun on the Leopard 1A5's turret roof with a commander's independent panoramic periscope, with options to install a jamming system in the RWS to counter unmanned aerial vehicles and loitering munitions.

The Hellenic Army has received industry proposals for upgrading its Leopard 1A5 main battle tanks (M...

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