SAF's Leopards impress in major overseas drill
Latest battle tanks part of exercise showcasing ability to knock out enemies. -ST, AsiaOne
Sun, Oct 26, 2008
The Straits Times, AsiaOne
[Above: Singapore's Defence Minister and his Australian counterpart.]
Rockhampton (Australia) - The awesome firepower of the Singapore military's latest battle tanks - the Leopard 2A4s - was demonstrated in their first major overseas exercise yesterday.
Two of the German-made Leopards - the Singapore Armed Forces' first heavy tanks - fired live rounds as they took part in the SAF's annual exercise, codenamed Wallaby, in Rockhampton, Queensland.
They were among 100 armoured vehicles backing thousands of 'blue', or friendly troop forces, giving a hammering to the 'red', or enemy forces.
Witnessing the action were the defence ministers of Singapore and Australia, Mr Teo Chee Hean and Mr Joel Fitzgibbon. They also observed an integrated systems live-firing exercise involving the participation of major air and land platforms such as the F-16 fighter aircraft, Apache attack helicopters, Pegasus lightweight howitzers and the Leopard 2A4 Main Battle Tanks.
| Technical Specifications | |
| Crew | 4 |
| Combat weight | 55.15 tonne |
| Dimensions (L x W x H) | 9.668 x 3.7 x 2.79 m |
| Main armament | 120mm smoothbore, L44 |
| Other Armament | 1 x 7.62 mm coaxial MG 1 x 7.62 mm anti-aircraft MG 8 x 76 mm smoke launcher per side |
| Fire control system | With stabilisation, thermal imager |
| Engine | MTU MB 873 Ka-501 diesel engine |
| Power | 1500 hp |
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