At the end of 2018, the Hungarian armed forces (Magyar Honvédség) ordered a total of 44 Leopard 2A7s from the German tank manufacturer KMW (Militär Aktuell reported) to replace the 22 T-72s in their two tank companies. According to reports, the Hungarians were looking for used A5 or A6s, which were and are not available on the market. They therefore went all out and ordered the top model, the A7. Delivery of the first models is planned for 2023, initial operational readiness is not expected before 2025, and full combat, tactical and logistical operational readiness will probably complete the ten-year introductory phase.
In order to facilitate the transition from the Soviet T-72 to western tank technology in the form of the Leopard 2, KMW provided twelve Leopard 2A4s in the form of a leasing variant. These twelve tanks are well known in Austria, as they originate from the reduction of the Austrian tank fleet from three to one tank battalion – making these tanks true Europeans: built in Germany for the Dutch Koninklijke Landmacht, later sold to the ÖBH, bought back by KMW and now leased to the Hungarians. The configuration status is the same as that of the Austrian Panzerbataillon 14, which is also equipped with the FN-MAG machine gun, the VIC-3.0 intercom system and the RACAL radio. As neither KMW nor the German Bundeswehr have any simulators for the Leo 2A4, Austria and Panzerbataillon 14 quickly came into play for the training of the Hungarian soldiers. The fact that the red-white-red unit has the best-trained soldiers has been proven several times since 2017. Of course, training with their neighbor was also geographically convenient for the comrades from Tata. For the time being, a training cooperation was agreed for 2020 and 2021. In addition to the driving school for eight Hungarian soldiers, which has been postponed to 2021 due to Covid, a six-week block was agreed, starting on September 28. The simulators in Wels will be used intensively in the first and last two weeks, and the two weeks in the middle will be used to consolidate what has been learned and implement it in training aids in Hungary.
All 16 Hungarian soldiers are members of Tank Battalion 11 from Tata, which is located approximately halfway between Nickelsdorf and Budapest. The comrades are highly committed to the training, although there are considerable differences between the T-72 and the Leopard 2. The two turret training systems and both firing simulators are used for this training. An introduction to the FN-MAG and the RACAL round off the program. It is not only the function of the loader that is obviously new. The full stabilization, the precise laser rangefinder and the dynamic lead for engaging moving targets also require a fundamental reorientation in the handling of the main battle tank system. Of course, the weeks in Wels can only cover the tip of the iceberg and there will still be a lot of water flowing down the Traun and Danube to Budapest before crews, platoons or even companies are formed in addition to the individual functions.
The main lessons identified for Panzer Battalion 14 are that the introduction of a completely new weapon system will certainly take ten years, the availability of new equipment on the world market is more than limited and it is a long and rocky road to regain skills once they have been mastered. For the Austrian Armed Forces, the lesson to be learned is that types of weapons must be available at least to the extent of a small unit in order to ensure the necessary growth rate in the active areas and, in particular, for the militia. https://militaeraktuell.at/neue-leopard-kampfpanzer-fuer-ungarn/ The strategic warning period of ten years always begins tomorrow, because a tank, anti-aircraft, cyber combat or drone defense battalion always needs ten years to be ready for deployment. This means that maintaining forces with a maximum company strength is never sufficient, is extremely costly in logistical terms and is also not sufficient for maintaining technical, tactical and, in particular, logistical knowledge. In an era in which old conflicts are constantly breaking out again on the fault lines around Europe, it is irresponsible in terms of defense policy to be prepared only for the scenarios with the highest probability of occurrence, at least for armed forces.
A state must of course be prepared for scenarios such as the current pandemic, large-scale blackouts or climate-related natural disasters. However, these are tasks for the state as a whole, in which the armed forces naturally provide support if they are not needed for their core task of national or alliance defense. The conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, which has just heated up again, shows (Military News reported) shows that a pandemic does not necessarily guarantee international cooperation and the overcoming of state dissonance, but can also be cleverly exploited by actors as a strategic moment of weakness.
“A tank is like a dinner jacket, you don’t need it very often, but when you do, nothing else will do.
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This brings us back to the British saying: A tank is like a dinner jacket, you don’t need it very often, but when you do, nothing else will do. At an invitation where a dinner jacket is required, you won’t be able to borrow one in a hurry, you’ll have to own one yourself and know how to wear it on a smooth parquet floor! With this in mind: Panzer Voraus!
