Editing Leopard 2A6 Hades (section)

==History==
Class: Main Battle Tank</br>
Developed: 1997-2000</br>
Service: 2001+</br>
Vehicles Built: 867</br>
Operators: Germany, Netherlands, Canada, Greece, Spain, Finland

Until recently the latest variant of the Leopard 2 series, the Leopard 2A6 is essentially a Leopard 2A5 with a longer L/55 cannon, replacing the older L/44 120mm smoothbore by Rheinmetall. The FCS has been upgraded as well and the tank can fire new LKE II APFSDS rounds with tungsten penetrators (the German military does not use depleted uranium due to environmental and health concerns). Several export offshoots of this tank exist along with a version with improved armor built for asymmetric warfare, which was used in Afghanistan. Until wider proliferation of the 2A7 takes place, this variant will remain the most advanced service Leopard 2 model.