Military Space News
MILTECH
Ukraine troops train on Leopard tanks in Poland
Reuters Events SMR and Advanced Reactor 2025
Ukraine troops train on Leopard tanks in Poland
By Damien Simonart, with Stanislaw Waszak in Warsaw
Swietoszow, Poland (AFP) Feb 13, 2023

Ukrainian soldiers, who arrived at a Polish military base straight from the frontline, on Monday praised the Leopard battle tanks whose ins and outs they have been learning under the watchful eye of allied instructors.

"As of today, I can say that the machine is very high quality, very good," Ukrainian army major Vadym Khodak told reporters attending the training showcase in the southwestern village of Swietoszow.

"And what I like is that our soldiers like it very much," he added of the 105 Ukrainian troops who have been learning from Polish, Canadian and Norwegian instructors.

Germany recently gave the green light for the modern German-made tanks to be sent to Ukraine after a tireless campaign by Kyiv and other countries.

Last week, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said Berlin and its allies aim to deliver a first battalion of tanks by April, and others would follow later this year and next.

- 'Experienced tank drivers' -

Khodak said the tanks would be "a great support for our army."

"And I hope that when we come to the frontline with this equipment, it will save a lot of lives of our soldiers and bring us closer to victory," he added.

Attending the showcase in Swietoszow, Polish President Andrzej Duda hailed the Ukrainian troops who have been battling Russia's invasion for the past year.

"These are very experienced tank drivers, who arrived here straight from the front" in Ukraine, he said.

"Just by looking at their faces, you can see that these men have lived through horrible things but are absolutely determined to defend their homeland," Duda added.

Some of the soldiers climbed aboard their future tanks during the demonstration, though up to now they have been practicing on simulators and learning theory.

- Twelve hours a day -

The training normally lasts two months but Ukraine's troops are getting a more intensive version -- the same content and number of hours but in just one month.

They train "around 10 to 12 hours a day, from Monday to Saturday," Polish instructor Krzysztof Sieradzki told reporters.

He said 21 four-man teams are attending the current training. Add to that technical personnel and you get a total of 105 soldiers getting acquainted with the tanks provided by Poland and Canada.

"The Ukrainian soldiers are dazzled by the simplicity of the build and the ergonomics of the crew compartments," Sieradzki said.

"There's no need for us to motivate them. If anything, we have to put the brakes on their enthusiasm," he added.

The major challenge ahead is to locate spare parts for the tanks, according to Polish Defence Minister Mariusz Blaszczak.

He said he hopes to bring up the issue with Pistorius at talks in Brussels on Tuesday.

Related Links
The latest in Military Technology for the 21st century at SpaceWar.com

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
MILTECH
Northrop Grumman-built Common Infrared Countermeasure Systems approved by US Army for early fielding
Rolling Meadows IL (SPX) Feb 10, 2023
Northrop Grumman Corporation's (NYSE: NOC) Common Infrared Countermeasures (CIRCM) system has achieved Initial Operational Capability (IOC). With IOC, the U.S. Army demonstrated the ability to field, employ and maintain CIRCM in significant quantities on its rotary wing platforms. This milestone advances the accelerated fielding of CIRCM systems on more than 1,500 Army aircraft. CIRCM has met the IOC requirements for UH-60M, HH-60M, CH-47F and AH-64Es. "CIRCM's ability to track and rapidly defeat ... read more

MILTECH
Germany to give Slovakia Mantis air defence systems

Advanced manufacturing powering development of Next Generation Interceptor

Kremlin keeps mum on missile systems seen on Moscow rooftops

Netherlands set to boost push for Patriot missile defenses in Ukraine

MILTECH
Russia fires dozens of missiles at Ukraine overnight: Kyiv

Final flight of HAWC Program screams through the sky

Ukraine leader says wants long-range missiles, jets from West

Ukraine missile toll rises to 40 as Russia denies attack

MILTECH
Oops -- US jet pilot misses mystery object with first missile

Japan says past aerial objects likely Chinese spy balloons

US still in dark over mystery flying objects, rejects China balloon accusation

Flying object mystery deepens in US as China accuses Washington

MILTECH
Multi aircraft and naval ships showcase interoperability

SES, ThinKom and Hughes enable multi-orbit resilient connectivity for critical airborne missions

Comtech receives additional funding for US Army Communications

GIT becomes Iridium Certus Service Provider to DoD and other Government customers

MILTECH
Germany to send 'half battalion' of tanks to Ukraine

US awards $522 mn for artillery shells; Ukraine's allies scramble to keep ammo flowing

Ukraine troops train on Leopard tanks in Poland

Northrop Grumman-built Common Infrared Countermeasure Systems approved by US Army for early fielding

MILTECH
Ukraine munition appetite tests Western defence industry

Germany slams Swiss ban on munitions for Ukraine

Philippines' Marcos strikes defence, infrastructure deals in Tokyo

Ukraine defence chief says audit underway after corruption scandals

MILTECH
NATO chief tells Turkey to ratify Sweden, Finland membership

Biden says will contact Xi in wake of balloon shoot-down

NATO chief to push Sweden, Finland bids on Turkey visit

NATO debates raising defence spending target

MILTECH
Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.