First Turkish Leopard 2 Tank Knocked Out In Syria (Video)

Photo: YouTube / Turkish Military Portal Turk Silahli Kuvvetleri.

A video, showing a process of hitting of the Turkish Leopard 2A4 tank by an antitank guided weapons system, has been published online. Turkish troops, operating in Syria, have lost the Leopard 2A4 tank, which was hit by an antitank guided weapons system. As a result of the missile hit, four armor crewmen were wounded.



Reportedly, the incident took place near the town of al-Bab, where Turkish troops are involved in intense fighting against local militants. The Turkish side has officially admitted the fact that its tank was knocked out and four servicemen were injured.

Military experts believe that the tank was hit with the TOW-2 anti-tank guided missile system.


It is not the first case of destruction of Turkish armored vehicles in the Middle East. In April, Kurds knocked out the M60T Sabra tank in northern Iraq. The damaged Turkish tank was the American M-60 Patton, upgraded under the Israeli Sabra Mk II project. The tank was hit with the Kornet-E TOW missile.

In August, another Turkish M60T Sabra tank was hit with a guided missile in the vicinity of the Syrian city of Jarabulus. According to the Reuters news agency, as a result, one serviceman was killed, while three others were seriously wounded and the tank was destroyed.

According to the Military Balance book of reference, there are about 2,500 tanks of several types of American and German production in service in the Turkish ground forces. In addition, there are about 2,000 of armored vehicles on storage bases.

The development of the Leopard 2 tank was a reaction of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) to the firepower of tanks of the countries of the Warsaw Pact. In 1979, the tank passed into service in the Bundeswehr and its supplies to NATO countries were started. The Leopard 2A4 tank is armed with the Rheinmetall 120-mm smoothbore cannon and two 7.62-mm machine guns. The crew consists of four persons. The tank weighs more than 55 tons. The maximum speed is up to 72 kilometers per hour.