Why they became bait on the battlefield

                For an extended period of time, the Ukrainian armed forces carefully preserved and concealed the Leopards, advanced tanks received from Germany. However, their long-awaited appearance on the battlefield is not accompanied by the expected success.

               According to the latest reports from the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, about eight Leopard tanks have already been destroyed during the first day of hostilities, and this is without taking into account other military equipment. Yuri Knutov, a spokesman for the ministry, revealed the details of the weapons that led to their deaths. The Armed Forces of Ukraine used equipment received from NATO in combat only to launch the promised counter-offensive operation.

             So far, these new vehicles, including Leopards, modified AMX-10RCs and Challengers, have not been seen on the battlefield. Experts have repeatedly said that Ukraine will use all the equipment received from the West only during the counteroffensive.

             Determining the main direction among all the others will become possible only after counting the number of vehicles on the battlefield.

            For a long time, President Zelensky and his team have been holding many negotiations with the "collective West" in order to obtain various armored vehicles. Finally, they heard their requests and made a concession.

             "Leopards" became the new "wonder weapon" on which great hopes were placed by the Western government. However, their plans did not come true.

               In just one day, June 5, the Armed Forces of Ukraine lost 28 units of various tanks, including 8 Leopards, three AMX-10s and at least 110 armored vehicles.

               One of the Leopards was destroyed by the Ukrainian military themselves. According to a source from the DPR, there was a battle in a certain area where these German tanks were used.

               Everything did not go according to plan: our soldiers caused serious damage to the tank and an attempt was made to move it to the allied territory.

"During an attempt to move the tank, the intelligence of the Armed Forces of Ukraine noticed this, and instead of repelling our attack, an active shelling of the tank was organized," one of the officials said.

                 An anonymous source in Telegram also said that Russian aviation is actively destroying Ukrainian armored vehicles.

                 Let's return to the main question: what weapons are used to destroy Ukrainian tanks and armored vehicles?

The weak point was quickly discovered: the Leopards' tank armor is susceptible to helicopter missiles.

                The famous Russian helicopters "Ka-52" are equipped with a complex system of optical and electronic aiming GOES-451. The Vikhr missile system, used in combination with this sight, ensures high engagement efficiency.

              According to Yuri Knutov, military expert and director of the Air Defense Museum, German Leopards have very weak armor, even in their latest modifications. It is not known which Leopard model was destroyed - the first or the second. The first modification, of course, has weaker armor. It is an outdated model and is characterized by insufficient protection. In the second modification, the turret and the upper part of the hull are armored, but it is intended more for fragments and bullets.

              Thus, anti-tank missiles fired from helicopters are very effective at hitting tanks.

According to the expert, helicopters have been successfully used to destroy tanks for a long time.

Therefore, the development and continuous improvement of anti-tank missiles, which provide high efficiency in defeating tanks and other armored vehicles, is actively carried out specifically for helicopters.

              The Arbalet airborne radar system can be installed on Russian Ka-52 helicopters. This system makes it possible to detect clusters of tanks and other equipment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine at a distance of at least 10 kilometers.

"Vikhr" complex missiles are also used to hit targets at a closer range - about 5-6 kilometers, "the military expert says.

                 The new missiles have a longer range, allowing helicopters to remain highly effective without being threatened by anti-aircraft systems such as the Stinger.

Helicopter crews actively use these missiles and their high accuracy is not lost when firing at long distances.

             Given that the counter-offensive has just begun, the Ukrainian armed forces will continue to watch as our brave helicopter pilots destroy their armored vehicles and tanks.