Spanish tanks showed their firepower with the HE-T M95 shell
MADRID, SPAIN — The Spanish Army’s Leopard 2E main battle tanks deployed in Latvia put their firepower to the test in a recent exercise held at the Maneuver Field near the Adazhi base.
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About 600 soldiers and various military platforms [Leopard, Pizarro, Vamtac, M109, engineering materials…] took part in the combat training. The Spanish contingent is part of the Canadian-led battle group within NATO’s Enhanced Forward Presence [EFP] mission.
During the exercise, Leopards 3E from Trojan Company received a tactical marksmanship certificate intending to participate in training or operations. The combat group in Latvia has published a series of images of the activity in which the Leopard can be seen in action via its social networks.
Of the four photos released, one image showing a Spanish soldier loading a shell is particularly impressive. Behind him, a colleague manipulates one of the tubes in which the ammunition is stored and a Leopard vehicle appears behind him.
The type of projectile is clearly visible on the tubes. In this case, we are talking about ХЕ-Т [high-explosive tracer] M-95 rounds with dimensions of 120 x 570 mm, weighing 35 kg. This projectile is loaded with a very high explosive that usually explodes on impact and is very effective against lightly armored vehicles, infantry, or for action against infrastructure.
This type of exercise is common in this allied mission, but what is not so common, at least so far, is showing close-up images of the projectiles.
Leopard 2E is one of the most advanced versions of the Leopard family. The army has half a dozen permanently stationed in Latvia. In total, the fleet of version 2E consists of 239 units [219 lines, 16 rehabilitation, and four training cars].
Spain also has 108 Leopard 2A4s. It is planned that 10 of these variants will be delivered to the Ukrainian army. Part of this batch is already at the Santa Bárbara Sistemas facilities in Alcalá de Guadaíra in Seville, where it will be fine-tuned before shipping.
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