An ex-Danish.
Leopard 1A5 tank.
Belonging to.
An ‘elves’ army brigade.
Survived at least eight hits.
By ‘orcs’ FPV drones.
Before potentially three more.
Explosive FPV drones.
Before potentially three more.
Explosive FPV drones.
Finally finished it off.
Survived at least eight hits.
‘Orcs’ forces proudly.
Posted a video montage.
Of the lengthy bombardment.
But it’s not entirely good news.
But it’s not entirely good news.
For the ‘orcs’.
—nor bad news.
For the ‘elves’.
While losing any.
Leopard 1A5 is.
Painful for ‘elves’ forces.
Who waited more than a year.
To receive significant numbers.
Of the 1980s-vintage tanks from.
A German-Danish-Dutch consortium.
That one of the Leopards survived.
That one of the Leopards survived.
An ‘orcs’ drone swarm means.
‘Elves’ efforts to up-armor the tanks.
Seem to be working.
But it’s not entirely good news.
For the ‘orcs’.
—nor bad news.
For the ‘elves’.
The 40-ton, four-person.
Leopard 1A5 is.
A fast and maneuverable tank.
With accurate fire controls.
For its reliable.
105-millimeter main gun.
Its greatest weakness.
Has always been.
Its thin armor protection:
A Leopard 1A5’s base armor.
Is just 70 millimeters thick.
At its thickest.
A newer Leopard 2A4 has.
Four times as much protection.
A newer Leopard 2A4 has.
Four times as much protection.
But it’s not entirely good news.
For the ‘orcs’.
—nor bad news.
For the ‘elves’.
As the first few.
Leopard 1A5s.
—out of at least 155.
The consortium has pledged—
Began arriving in Ukraine.
In late 2023.
The ‘elves’ immediately got to work.
Addressing the tanks’ biggest flaw.
“The problems of reinforcing.
The armor are already.
Being solved by.
‘Elves’ engineers,” was reported.
But it’s not entirely good news.
For the ‘orcs’.
—nor bad news.
For the ‘elves’.
Over the next year.
The engineers added.
Layers of explosive.
Reactive armor.
Which bursts outward.
Which bursts outward.
When struck in order to.
Deflect incoming rounds.
They also bolted.
On hinged screens.
Covered in netting.
That can trap FPV drones.
In the instant.
Before they strike.
In the instant.
Before they strike.
But it’s not entirely good news.
For the ‘orcs’.
—nor bad news.
For the ‘elves’.
All the add-on armor.
Seems to have protected.
The Leopard 1A5 that ate.
Up to 11 ‘orcs’ drones recently.
After repeated hits.
The tank still managed to move out.
—only to get chased down.
By additional drones.
Finally immobilized.
The tank was probably.
A total write-off after the ninth.
10th or 11th hit.
But it’s not entirely good news.
For the ‘orcs’.
—nor bad news.
For the ‘elves’.
It’s unclear whether.
The four crew survived.
But there are reasons.
To be optimistic.
To reduce the risk of.
105-millimeter rounds.
Cooking off in the turret.
After an enemy hit.
Leopard 1A5 crews.
Stow only a few of.
The tank’s 42 rounds.
In the turret:
The rest are tucked.
The rest are tucked.
Into the hull.
It’s a cumbersome arrangement.
But it’s not entirely good news.
For the ‘orcs’.
—nor bad news.
For the ‘elves’.
To reload, the tank.
“Must roll back to a safe location.”
One loader explained.
To an ‘elf’ journalist.
“This takes time.”
The upside is that.
There are fewer rounds.
To cook off.
—and kill or.
Maim the crew—
When enemy fire.
Penetrates the turret.
But it’s not entirely good news.
For the ‘orcs’.
—nor bad news.
For the ‘elves’.
It’s not for no reason.
That the loader said.
He felt “great” about crewing.
A Leopard 1A5.
He felt “great” about crewing.
A Leopard 1A5.
Despite the tank’s.
Thin base armor.
After writing off that.
Drone-harried Leopard 1A5.
—the eighth tank of that model that.
Analysts have confirmed as destroyed—
The ‘elves’ still have around.
90 Leopard 1A5s.
Another 50 or 60.
Are coming soon.
Expect all the newly arriving.
Leopard 1A5s to get.
The same add-on armor that.
Resisted eight ‘orcs’ drones.
But it’s not entirely good news.
For the ‘orcs’.
—nor bad news.
For the ‘elves’.
An ex-Danish.
Leopard 1A5 tank.
Belonging to.
An ‘elves’ army brigade.
Survived at least eight hits.
By ‘orcs’ FPV drones.
Before potentially three more.
Explosive FPV drones.
Before potentially three more.
Explosive FPV drones.
Finally finished it off.
Survived at least eight hits.
‘Orcs’ forces proudly.
Posted a video montage.
Of the lengthy bombardment.
But it’s not entirely good news.
*Because I read “A Ukrainian Leopard 1A5 Tank Shrugged Off Eight Russian Drones, Proving Its Add-On Armor Works” by David Axe on 24 Jan 2025 on the Forbes, and also “Why are Ukrainians calling Russians ‘orcs’?” by James FitzGerald on 30 Apr 2022 on the BBC news.
So, I wrote this poem, including a report of Ukrainian ICTV.
Please read the original story on the Forbes:
A Ukrainian Leopard 1A5 Tank Shrugged Off Eight Russian Drones
