Ukraine Is Forming a New Brigade With Leopard 2A4 Tanks
The 155th Mechanized Brigade will be the Ukrainian army's second Leopard 2A4 unit
Last fall, the Ukrainian army began forming the first of 11 new brigades—enough for a 10-percent expansion of the Ukrainian ground forces. But these brigades are desperately short of modern weaponry.
If there’s an exception, it’s the 155th Brigade. The 2,000-person brigade began forming in Rivne, in western Ukraine, this spring. It was an infantry brigade, at first—a light unit whose heaviest equipment, it seems, were 13-ton MT-LB armored tractors.
But the brigade has recently gained Leopard 2A4 tanks—and a new moniker. It’s now the 155th Mechanized Brigade.
The 155th isn’t the only new brigade to get a vehicular upgrade and a new name. The 153rd Brigade formed late last year as a mechanized brigade, got downgraded to an infantry brigade in April and then, in June, returned to being a mechanized brigade.
The 155th Mechanized Brigade should have one tank battalion with around 31 Leopard 2A4 tanks. According to Militaryland, which tracks the Ukrainian force structure, the brigades’ crews are training in Poland.
Ukraine so far has received 40 of the 1980s-vintage, German-designed Leopard 2A4s from Canada, Norway, Poland and Spain. Denmark, The Netherlands and Spain have pledged, but not yet delivered, another 33 of the 55-ton tanks, each with four crew and a 120-millimeter main gun.
The 33rd Mechanized Brigade was the first Ukrainian army brigade to operate Leopard 2A4s. It has lost at least 11 of them, mostly during Ukraine’s 2023 southern counteroffensive. The 33rd might have 29 Leopard 2A4s left—still enough for nearly a full battalion.
The 155th Mechanized Brigade may get the majority of those 33 additional Leopard 2A4s whose delivery still is pending. If two of the fresh tanks go to the 33rd Brigade, it’s possible both units—the 33rd and 155th—will have 31 tanks, the exact allotment for a Ukrainian tank battalion.
The 155th Brigade’s up-armoring is rare good news as Ukraine struggles to equip its new brigades. The newly-forming 153rd Mechanized Brigade is typical of the new brigade. It rides in BMP-1 tracked infantry fighting vehicles from the 1960s, BRDM-2 wheeled reconnaissance vehicles also from the ’60s, French-made VAB wheeled armored personnel carriers from the ’70s and 1990s-vintage M-1117 wheeled security vehicles donated by the United States. It might have a few 60-year-old ex-Russian T-62 tanks.
With the possible exception of the tanks, none of the 153rd Brigade’s vehicles are armored against threats greater than a heavy machine gun.
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