Canada’s First Leopard Arrives in Poland
The first of four promised Canadian Leopard 2 main battle tanks has arrived in Poland. Canada’s Minister for National Defense, Anita Anand, announced that the first Leopard had embarked for Europe aboard a Royal Canadian Air Force C-17, sharing a video of the tank being loaded onto the aircraft.
Later Anand said in another tweet: “The first Canadian Leopard 2 main battle tank that we’ve donated to Ukraine has now arrived in Poland. Alongside our allies, we’ll soon be training the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the use of this equipment.” The training of Ukrainian tank crews on Leopard will likely take place in Poland with instructors from multiple nations.
Canada is believed to have 82 gun-equipped Leopard 2s, with a further 30 support variants for a total of 112. The MBTs include 42 Leopard 2A4s, 20 Leopard 2A4Ms, and 20 2A6Ms. The state the Canadian Leopard fleet is in, however, has been called into question with the Canadian press reporting that a few as 20% of the tanks are currently serviceable. A National Post article cited several Canadian Forces College research papers that describe the Canadian Army’s tank force as a paper tiger.
Canada maintains a fleet of four C17s with the aircraft shown in Anand’s video displaying the tail number 177702. The Boeing C17 can transport up to 170,900 lb (77,519 kg) of cargo – with the Leopard 2 weighing in a around 62,300 kg.
While Canada’s initial transfer of tanks will number 4 vehicles, enough for a troop within a Ukrainian tank battalion. Canada may, reportedly, look to transfer additional tanks in the future.
Header Image: Canada’s first Leopard 2 bound for Ukraine is loaded onto a RCAF C17 (Canadian Armed Forces)