When it comes to Turkey's "Leopard", many veteran military fans immediately think of the "Leopard 2" tank. At that time, Turkey's main tanks were in urgent need of replacement, and they set their sights on the world's top - the German Leopard 2 tank.
However, some of their domestic and international policies have not been pleasing to the eyes of Western countries, so the latter banned the sale of "Leopard 2" to Turkey. Who would have thought that Turkey, which has been actively moving closer to Europe and the United States and does not recognize itself as an Asian country, will encounter such setbacks.
Discriminated Turkey is not willing to "Leopard 2", so under a series of operations, Turkey has obtained a large number of second-hand "Leopard 2" tanks, the number of which has set a world record, and no one has broken it so far. However, the "Leopard" we want to talk about below is not the world's largest number of second-hand "Leopard 2" owned by Turkey, but their own domestic weapon - "Leopard" armored vehicle.
First, choose one out of a hundred
Due to Turkey's special geographical location, coupled with the feud with the Tsarist era. The US-led NATO is actively co-opting Turkey, which is also an important reason why they consider themselves superior to Asian countries. After the end of the Cold War, dissolution of Russia was no longer a target for war, so Turkey's status was greatly reduced. European and American countries have always hated him, and before they could put on a smiley face, now they are too lazy to pretend.
Through the passage of a ministerial bill, turkey not only has difficulties in joining the European Union, but also the sale of European weapons and equipment and technology. This is tantamount to a draw from the bottom of the barrel. Previously, Turkey could buy Western weapons at will or learn technology at a higher price. Because there are too many good things, the domestic military industry only needs to do a good job of assembly and imitation, and has not thought about its own research and development. Now that the EUROPEAN Union led by France and Germany has changed its face, Turkey can only embark on the road of self-research.
But this road cannot be realized overnight, and weapons and equipment need to be upgraded. So under the temptation of money, the United States, Israel, Italy, and even Russia, and even South Korea have actively contributed their own plans. After a "one-in-a-hundred" process, Turkey decided to use the technology of the American General Motors Company to make its own new armored vehicle.
2. GPV
The GPV is a series of armored vehicles with four models: 4×4, 6×6, 8×8, and 10×10, which are introduced in order and called sentinels, battalion commanders, colonels, and generals. The more advanced design concept is that the 4 platforms are similar in structure, and the socket models of all parts are the same, that is, they can be modularly spliced. This concept is similar to the current Russian idea of armor.
However, it was the 90s, and the Americans adopted such a design not to strengthen the functional conversion of the armored system, but to reduce the cost of research and development, procurement, and reduce the pressure on logistics. And the core concept of GPV is to reduce costs, so the United States simply can't look at it, GM will position its products in countries such as South Korea and Malaysia, but it did not expect the former to look at, but it came to Turkey.
Turkey's FNSS Defense Systems company received the full set of GPV technology, and then the domestic armored vehicle "Leopard" was born. For Turkey, this should be the first domestically produced large weapon after the Cold War, and it caused a sensation at the time.
Turkey, which has lost its money, has used American technology to participate in the bidding for armored vehicle contracts in various countries, and it is quite courageous to fight with countries such as France and Russia.
Third, the "leopard" type parameters
First of all, the "Leopard" type is equipped with a remote control weapon station, and the weapons that can be selected are relatively free. Machine guns, grenade launchers, cannons, and even missiles can be added to the top. However, Turkey itself uses a domestic "sharpshooter" electric turret. 1 M242 Viper 25 mm machine gun, plus a 7.62 mm parallel machine gun. The weapon is accompanied by a thermal imaging sight and a laser rangefinder. It can be rotated 360 degrees and has an effective range of 2 kilometers.
As an armored vehicle, the power system is also an important reference content. The United States was originally equipped with a U.S.-made 350-horsepower diesel engine, which was obviously underpowered for a 25-ton guy. Turkey itself reloaded german goods, and the horsepower soared to 600, solving the problem of walking. At the same time, the "Leopard" is also equipped with a small 21-horsepower diesel engine, so that after the main engine is turned off, the weapons, communications, and reconnaissance systems on the vehicle can continue to operate.
Although the GPV is under-selected in terms of power, the suspension system data is excellent. The cushioning stroke could reach up to 520 mm, which was unique among wheeled armored vehicles at that time. Turkey has fully inherited the advantages of the suspension system, but also can use the computer to select 100, 300 and 520 mm 3 different boom strokes to adjust the height of the car.
The Panther armored vehicle has amphibious combat capabilities and can paddle at a speed of 5.6 kilometers per hour on its own. If a waterjet propeller or propeller is added, the speed can reach 10 kilometers per hour. From the current point of view, the "Leopard" type of vehicle system has no characteristics to speak of. However, in the 90s, the cockpit of this armored car was very advanced.
When other countries are still replacing some instrument information with display screens, GM directly brings in the full-screen concept of fighters. The "Leopard" type dashboard has only two large LCD screens, and all the information required by the vehicle can be displayed on the top. At the same time, the steering wheel is mounted on a sliding platform, and the driver, whether accustomed to being on the left or on the right side, simply opens the knot and pushes the steering wheel over.
In order to increase the defense, the "Leopard" type consists of many inclined surfaces, so that the shape of the car body looks very complex. The bottom of the car adopts a "deep v" design, which can withstand the impact of some mines. The vehicle can withstand 7.62 mm armor-piercing shells fired from 30 meters away, 8 kg of charge anti-tank mines, or 155 mm high-explosive grenade fragments fired from 60 meters away. After the addition of reactive armor, it is possible to further defend against the light shoulder-resistant anti-armor weapon of the RPG rocket.
Fourth, derivative models
The entire roof of the Leopard style is removable, which means that from the very beginning the Turks decided to develop derivative models.
At present, the "Leopard" type has developed 81 mm self-propelled mortar vehicles, armored rescue vehicles, ambulances, command vehicles, self-propelled anti-aircraft artillery vehicles and so on. In addition to the model, there is also the chassis. The "Leopard" chassis is 8×8, and the current 4×4 and 6×6 are also developed, but they are not mainstream in comparison.