OKAY: THE VIDEO ISNT THAT GREAT, BUT THATS IRRELEVANT TO THE TOPIC

A few months ago I came across the new design of the Leo2 PSO which definetly means a change in concept of the Leopard chain of models.

As you can see from this new german cammo pattern it clearly shows that there has been a shift in focus for main battle tanks, at least in Germany.

The engineers from Krauss Maffei Wegmann obviously try to rethink the cold war function of the Leo and adapt it to modern conflict scenarios. In other words, urban areas once considered a death trap for tanks should now become its main field of action.

The approach is to fight all the weak points of a tank when trapped in narrow roads: roadside bombs, infantry on top of buildings, barricades, fire, etc.

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"The PSO was displayed at Eurosatory 2006 fitted with add-on armor to the turret and hull (skirts), a dozer blade, operated by the driver, to remove road obstacles. A remotely controlled weapon station is mounted on the side of the turret, next to the loader's position, enabling the crew to effectively engage close-in targets under the protection of the tank's armor. This station also improves the tank's capability to engage targets at higher elevations.

Close-in panoramic coverage is provided by hull-mounted cameras, covering 360 degrees, augmenting the tank's vision and targeting systems. Existing sights are protected with metal screens to prevent damage by stones or debris. Internally, images from the vision systems can be distributed to all crew members, to share workload in continuous operation. To improve interoperability with nearby troops, external radio/intercom interface was added, enabling nearby troops to communicate with the tank. The tank was painted in an experimental urban combat pattern, recommended for deployment in the middle East."