Just sayin’: When Russians draw mothballed tanks from deep storage, people react with the usual “Desperation, this is all crappy old stuff, will get blown up” comment. And it’s true, those mothballed tanks probably are… old and rusty.BUT: at the same time Leopard 1 that have been out of service 20 years ago (and are probably 40 to 50 yrs. old) are being taken from storage and “refurbished” to be sent to Ukraine. Those are probably as old as the Russian mothballed tanks. Rheinmetall bought 50, but 20 were in such a state they were only used for spare parts, that’s why they send 30. Figure out yorself what that tells you about the state those tanks are in, and how that compares to Russian tanks pulled from deep storage.Some argue that European firms will make a better job of the refurbishment, that the Leopard 1 tanks are better than their Russian counterparts (of the same age) in the first place etc., but I would argue that basically the same is happening on both sides: old gear is pulled from storage, refurbished (under pressure) and sent to the front.
Ok, it’s not European “deep storage”, but a tank graveyard… but still. To think that Leopard 1 are all pulled from a garage, mint condition, it’s just not the case.
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Just sayin’: When Russians draw mothballed tanks from deep storage, people react with the usual “Desperation, this is all crappy old stuff, will get blown up” comment. And it’s true, those mothballed tanks probably are… old and rusty.BUT: at the same time Leopard 1 that have been out of service 20 years ago (and are probably 40 to 50 yrs. old) are being taken from storage and “refurbished” to be sent to Ukraine. Those are probably as old as the Russian mothballed tanks. Rheinmetall bought 50, but 20 were in such a state they were only used for spare parts, that’s why they send 30. Figure out yorself what that tells you about the state those tanks are in, and how that compares to Russian tanks pulled from deep storage.Some argue that European firms will make a better job of the refurbishment, that the Leopard 1 tanks are better than their Russian counterparts (of the same age) in the first place etc., but I would argue that basically the same is happening on both sides: old gear is pulled from storage, refurbished (under pressure) and sent to the front.
As for “Leopard 1” still around: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hXzRdk74eQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hXzRdk74eQ)
Ok, it’s not European “deep storage”, but a tank graveyard… but still. To think that Leopard 1 are all pulled from a garage, mint condition, it’s just not the case.