Tapa, Estonia
CNN
—
Gunshots are heard in the distance, and a thick blanket of snow muffles the sound and confuses the senses – it’s impossible to know how far away and in which direction.
Inside a German Leopard 2 tank, Danish soldiers are waiting to pounce on their prey. An “enemy” force hiding in trenches deep in the frozen forests of Estonia.
French and Estonian infantry launched a furious salvo of fake fire and attempted to overwhelm the trenches in near hand-to-hand combat before diving into this NATO military exercise just 100 miles (100 miles) from the Russian border. .
Troops fall to the ground in a simulated cannon thunderous explosion. Training officials yell at who died and who was wounded.
The annual NATO winter military exercises saw Coalition Soldiers, this year made up of Estonian, French, British, Danish and American armed forces, deploy a single unit capable of occupying enemy territory even in the bone-chilling cold. Intended for integration into combat units.
In the trees, the message for Russian President Vladimir Putin is clear. NATO’s high-tech forces are ready for action. Ukrainians who started training Leopard 2 tanks in Germany on Monday also have a lesson here.
Major Rasmus Jensen, commander of the Danish contingent, is a war-wounded veteran of NATO missions in Afghanistan and has extensive experience in ensuring his soldiers are prepared. “You have to be able to fight when you want them to fight,” he says.
His mission here is to help form Denmark’s new Leopard team, where tanks, infantry, artillery and other elements work seamlessly together to fight alongside infantry in “mixed arms fire”. This is a skill that Ukrainians must also master.
While his government has not committed Leopard 2 tanks to Kyiv, joining Ukraine’s other allies such as Germany, Poland, Portugal and Canada, Jensen has a lot of insight to offer. First and foremost, don’t expect immediate battlefield gains with the Leopard 2s.
The Danish military can train a Leopard 2 driver and gunner in two weeks, but getting one crew member to work as a team of four “takes about two months,” he said. Support vehicles can take years.
Jensen said he “trained the crew for about two years” before deploying the Leopard 2 to Afghanistan’s Helmand Province as part of NATO’s International Security Assistance Force.
Ukrainians want results fast. They want tanks to be the “iron first” to break through Russian lines and retake territory. Jensen’s tank is the “fist” of NATO exercises.
Jensen’s tanks are called forward as the French infantry outrun the Estonian trenches in Sunday’s exercises.
With a roar, the 60-ton beast tears through forest trails, spits snow from its footprints, and rushes past trenches further into enemy territory.
The Leopard 2’s agility as it weaves through ice-covered pines is its advantage. It’s not only nimble, it’s versatile and can back up at high speeds. This is an important advantage for shooting and scoot tank tactics.
As Matz told CNN, the Leopard driver, who only gave his name, said, “We have a great rear-view camera that allows us to back up with precision at a very fast pace.” Even the sheets of the are special, he says.
According to Jensen, its fast reverse gives the Leopard 2 a huge advantage over Russian tanks that are “much slower in reverse gear than forward”. In urban combat in the frozen Estonian forest, its agility is at a premium.
The Danish tank squadron commander, who has only named Stefan, is confident the Ukrainians are getting the best available in the Leopard 2. It’s his balance of those three elements that makes a good tank,” he told CNN from his command post. “This makes the Leopard at least one of the best main battle tanks in the world,” adds Major.
Two-thirds of the 44 tanks participating in the exercise are British Challenger 2s. Machines similar to these will soon fall into the hands of the Ukrainian military.
Major Nick Bridges, deputy commander of British forces in the 1,500-man, 500-vehicle exercise, drew lessons for Ukrainians from the exercise in Estonia. “Their biggest challenge is communication between Leopard and Challenger tanks,” he says.
Of the two tanks, the Leopard is faster and lighter, while the Challenger has more protection thanks to its heavier armor. But both are far superior to Russian tanks, he said, adding: So you can engage targets while looking for your next target. ”
Everyone talks about “the end of the tank,” he says, but it could be devastating at Ukrainian hands. “They are not there to attack other tanks, they are there to destroy other vehicles,” he explains. They would “easily clear infantry companies and convoys,” he added.
There will still be hurdles. Drones have become a huge danger in Ukraine, Jensen said, and he “can’t hide on the battlefield.” Drones are playing a role in his NATO exercises, but tanks are not yet fully adapted to the new battlefield environment, he says. “Tanks can’t see straight up,” he adds.
Also be careful with the bridge. A squadron of 14 British Challenger 2 tanks usually has several engineering support vehicles to deal with malfunctions. His crew of engineers can replace a “pack”, a multi-ton engine and gearbox, “for about an hour at the base and a little longer in the forest”. abilities and skills.
For Ukrainians, tanks will not come soon. Estonia’s Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur is worried that a new Russian push is imminent “in the coming months or weeks” after watching NATO exercises, he told CNN told to
Stefan, a Danish tank squadron commander, is confident they will be decisive, as when the leopards reach the Ukrainian front lines, the cavalry will come to their rescue. Think of it like: You go into battle and break through enemy lines,” he says.
