Germany unveils Leopard 2A7A1 tank with advanced Israeli defense

KNDS Group has handed over the first Leopard 2A7A1 tank to the Bundeswehr, while the next 17 units of the 2A6 version are set to be upgraded to this standard by 2025. The new tanks will initially be delivered to the Panzerbataillon 203 unit, which is part of the "Panzerbrigade 42" brigade permanently stationed in Lithuania.

The Leopard 2A7A1 serves as a bridge until the production of the new Leopard 2A8 variant begins, with first deliveries expected by 2027. The A7A1 version was developed to incorporate the Trophy active protection system without making significant changes to the Leopard 2A7V tank's structure.

Therefore, the A7A1 is expected to be slightly heavier than the A8, because the Trophy system needed to be integrated into the existing turret rather than a newly designed one with additional equipment.

Apart from that, the A7A1 variant is similar to the A8 variant, which will soon be delivered to many European countries, becoming the standard tank for NATO European nations. It's noteworthy that the purchase list includes countries such as the Czech Republic, Croatia, Lithuania, and the Netherlands.

The key aspect is the well-known Israeli Trophy system, renowned for its high effectiveness on Israeli tanks like the Merkava, which were deployed, for example, in the Gaza Strip. It's worth noting that urban areas have been the most dangerous environments for tanks for decades, and only the Trophy has changed that.

While the idea of active protection, which involves intercepting missiles before they hit the tank's armor, was conceived by the Russians, it was Israel that refined the concept to near-perfection. The reason for developing such a system was simple: due to weight limitations, the tank's armor is thickest at the front, while the sides or rear are much less protected.

Meanwhile, the proliferation of handheld anti-tank weapons capable of penetrating even more than 20 inches of armor steel (like the simplest PG-7VL grenade from an RPG-7 launcher) meant that a well-planned ambush by insurgents or soldiers could destroy a tank worth several million dollars. This is clearly demonstrated now in the war in Ukraine, where FPV drones are also causing significant damage.

The solution to this problem was determined to be intercepting such targets a few yards away from the vehicle using counter-projectiles. In the case of the Trophy system, these are MEFP (explosively formed projectiles) interceptors launched from launchers toward the incoming target.

The system uses targeting data from AESA radar antennas mounted on the turret, providing nearly 360-degree scanning (the blind spot is only directly above the turret). If an object with the appropriate features approaches the tank, MEFP interceptors are automatically launched toward it. They are very effective against all shaped-charge warheads and are only vulnerable to kinetic penetrators fired by other tanks.

Of course, this system is not without its flaws, as a sufficiently numerous attack from multiple directions can overwhelm the system, and theoretically, the gap between destroying an object and resetting the system could be exploited, as the radar might have difficulty detecting the next projectile in a cloud of debris.

Hezbollah is experimenting with this method, but so far, there is no evidence of successful operations in this regard. Moreover, due to the shrapnel threat, there can't practically be any infantry soldiers near such tanks.