In 2002 Germany donated to Poland a a total of 128 Leopard 2A4 tanks from the German Army stocks. In 2013 German MoD signed a contract with Poland to sell another 14 Leopard 2A4 tanks, plus 105 newer Leopard 2A5 tanks, and Bergepanzer 2 armored recovery vehicles from the army stocks. In 2015 the Polish MoD selected Rheinmetall of Germany as a favorite bidder to upgrade the older Leopard 2A4 tanks. An upgraded version was developed by Rheinmetall in cooperation with a number of Polish companies. It is called the Leopard 2PL. The demonstrator was first publicly revealed in 2016. In 2018 a contract was signed to upgrade the 142 Polish Leopard 2A4 tanks to the Leopard 2PL standard. First upgraded tanks were delivered to the Polish Army in 2020. Deliveries are planned to be completed by 2023.
The Leopard 2PL upgrade is broadly similar to the Rheinmetall Revolution MBT. It has got improved armor protection, improved gun, iomproved sights and some other systems. However despite all improvements the Polish Leopard 2PL is not as capable as the upgraded Leopard 2A7 upgraded by Krauss-Maffei Wegmann, which entered service with the German Army in 2014. The Leopard 2PL looses to Leopard 2A7 in the key areas of protection, firepower, accuracy, and onboard electronic systems.
The Polish Leopard 2PL has improved armor protection. An Advanced Modular Armor Protection (AMAP) composite armor kit, developed by the IBD Deusebroth company of Germany, was fitted to the turret. This armor is a part of Rheinmetall Revolution upgrade package. It uses new nano-ceramics materials and modern titanium and steel alloys. This armor provides higher level of protection against wide range of threats. Up-armored turret of the Leopard 2PL offers higher protection than turret of the Leopard 2A5, however it can not match protection level of the Leopard 2A7. The armor kit is modular, so damaged armor modules can be replaced in field conditions. It is planned that the AMAP armor modules will be produced in Poland under license.
The Leopard 2PL MBT is only slightly heavier than its predecessor. It weights 60 tons, comparing with 56.6 tons of the original Leopard 2A4. Around 3 tons of add-on armor were added to the turret front and sides. However no armor was added to the hull in order to keep the weight within the 60 tons limit, which was set by the Polish Army. Some sources report that armor was also added to the hull floor in order to improve protection against landmines and improvised explosive devices. Otherwise hull armor was not improved in any way. Furthermore Polish Leopard 2A4 tanks have hulls made in the early 1980s. It seems that these hulls will not withstand modern APFSDS ammunition. Crew members of the Leopard 2PL are seated on new shock-proof seats. The tank is also fitted with more efficient automatic fire suppression system.
The Leopard 2PL tank retains a 120 mm/L44 smoothbore gun of its predecessor. However the gun was modified by Rheinmetall to be compatible with newly-developed high pressure ammunition, such as programmable DM11 high-explosive air-burst ammunition, and high power DM53 and DM63 armor-piercing rounds. The programmable rounds enable to engage targets behind cover and within buildings. These multi-purpose DM11 rounds can be also used against enemy troops, armored vehicles and low-flying helicopters. The gun can also fire any other standard NATO 120 mm tank ammunition. The gun is loaded manually by the loader. A total of 42 rounds are carried inside the tank. 15 rounds are stored in the turret bustle and are ready to use. Remaining rounds are stored inside the hull. The turret bustle is separated from the crew compartment and has a blow-out panels.
The Leopard 2PL has improved sights and fire control system. The commander uses panoramic sight, which is fitted with a Polish-made thermal imager and includes a laser rangefinder. Commander's station is equipped with a number of digital screens, that display different information.
It looks like the Leopard 2PL has got a hunter-killer engagement capability, which is present on all modern main battle tanks. The commander uses his panoramic sight to search for targets. Once the target is selected the gun is laid on the target automatically and the gunner completes al the aiming and firing process. During that time commander looks for the next target. Such target engagement method allows to acquire and engage targets faster.
The driver received a new night vision sight for driving at night and a rear vision camera, which makes driving backwards much easier.

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