Nearly 30 percent of the Canadian Army’s fleet of Leopard 2 main battle tanks, which number 74 in total, will be out of commission due to required maintenance for about three years starting this May, according to newly released federal records.
All 20 of the Canadian Army’s Leopard 2A6M fleet are set to undergo a “planned repair, overhaul, and turret conversion” in New Brunswick that the Department of National Defence (DND) says will not be completed until 2026, according to an Inquiry of Ministry tabled by cabinet in the House of Commons on March 20.
DND says in the Inquiry that the tanks are generally considered combat-ready only when up to date on their inspection schedules and after all necessary maintenance has been completed.
“Accordingly, vehicles can be deemed unserviceable when scheduled for routine inspections or refurbishment, awaiting parts, or requiring the attention of technicians holding specific qualifications,” it says.
While the 20 Leopard 2A6M tanks set to receive repairs over the next three years represent just over 27 percent of the Army’s total fleet, they are also exactly half of the Leopard 2 fleet reserved for combat purposes.
The Army’s remaining Leopard 2A4 tanks—which number 34 in total—are reserved as the military’s training fleet, but DND says in the Inquiry that they are “maintained at a level of serviceability to meet the quantity required to support the Army’s force generation requirements.”
DND released the information in the Inquiry on the request of Conservative national defence critic James Bezan, who asked in the House on Jan. 26 for details of the Army’s tank fleet readiness and also whether or not the federal government has any plans of updating the fleet with newer tanks.
The department said it has not confirmed any date for retiring the Leopard 2 tanks and replacing them with newer models.
However, the Inquiry added that the Canadian Army has begun an “early assessment of possible options” for updating the fleet, which it says will be dependent upon the federal government’s “commitment to replace the capability.”
The recently tabled Inquiry also said that approximately 25 Canadian Armed Forces members were sent at the time to Poland to train Ukrainian crews “on the fundamentals of Leopard 2 tanks.”
