At a training ground in Poland, Ukrainian tank crews learn how to master the Leopard 2, one of the most advanced battle tanks in NATO’s arsenal.
Synopsis
Ukrainian Army tank crews are hard at work in Poland learning how to drive one of the modern battle tanks donated by NATO Allies: the Leopard 2.
In 2023, several NATO Allies decided to donate about 80 Leopard 2 tanks of various models to the Ukrainian Army, and to train the soldiers who would operate them. At the Combined Arms Training Centre (CAT-C) in Zagan, Poland, Ukrainian soldiers learn every aspect of driving and maintaining the Leopard 2 – from repairing broken axels, to driving over obstacles, to firing the main gun while moving forward at top speed. When they leave Zagan, they are ready to operate the Leopard 2 in combat.
The training is undertaken as part of the European Union Military Assistance Mission Ukraine, which involves several NATO Allies.
Footage includes shots of Ukrainian soldiers using simulators, conducting live-fire drills and learning how to repair a Leopard 2A4 tank, as well as an interview with CAT-C commander Major General Piotr Fajkowski.
Transcript
---SHOTLIST—
(00:00) VARIOUS SHOTS – UKRAINIAN TANK DRIVER USING COMPUTER SIMULATOR WHILE MONITORED BY POLISH SOLDIERS
(00:26) VARIOUS SHOTS – COMPUTER SCREEN SHOWING VIDEO FEED OF UKRAINIAN DRIVER INSIDE SIMULATOR
(00:31) VARIOUS SHOTS – SIMULATOR BOX MOVING ON HYDRAULIC STRUTS
(00:41) WIDE SHOT – POLISH TRAINER CLOSING DOOR ON SIMULATOR BOX
(00:47) VARIOUS SHOTS – LEOPARD 2PL ENTERING MAINTENANCE BAY
(00:58) VARIOUS SHOTS – UKRAINIAIN SOLDIERS LEARNING HOW TO MAINTAIN LEOPARD 2
(01:32) MEDIUM SHOT – POLISH ARMY TRAINER TEACHING UKRAINIAN SOLDIERS
(01:37) VARIOUS SHOTS – UKRAINIAN SOLDIERS LEARNING HOW TO CLEAN AND ASSEMBLE MACHINE GUN
(01:58) VARIOUS SHOTS – UKRAINIAN TANK CREW TRAINING ON LEOPARD 2 TURRET SIMULATOR
(02:09) WIDE SHOT – LEOPARD 2PL VIEWED OUT WINDOW
(02:13) VARIOUS SHOTS – UKRAINIAN SOLDIERS LOAD TRAINING SHELLS INTO LEOPARD 2A4 TANK
(02:26) MEDIUM SHOT – UKRAINIAN SOLDIER FIRES MACHINE GUN FROM LEOPARD 2 A4 TANK
(02:31) VARIOUS SHOTS – LEOPARD 2A4 TANKS MOVING
(02:58) WIDE SHOT – LEOPARD 2 TRAINER TANK MOVING BEHIND LEOPARD 2A4
(03:04) MEDIUM SHOT – LEOPARD 2A4 MOVING INTO POSITION
(03:08) VARIOUS SHOTS – LEOPARD 2A4 FIRING TRAINING SHELLS
(03:17) VARIOUS SLOW-MO SHOTS – LEOPARD 2A4 FIRING TRAINING SHELLS
(03:29) VARIOUS CLOSE-UPS – LEOPARD 2A4 TREADS IN MOTION
(03:38) SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) Polish Army Major General Piotr Fajkowski, commander, Combined Arms Training Centre
“The training programme is focused on training the members of the crew – so the gunner, the driver, the commander of the tank – then, to make from them the tank crew as a whole, and finally, because of the time we are giving to the training, we touch tosome basic elements of the platoon.”
(04:00) SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) Polish Army Major General Piotr Fajkowski, commander, Combined Arms Training Centre
“We have two advantages. Firstly, using the computers, we save time. Because we can operate all day long using the computers, so driver after driver will be trained. Secondly, we save fuel for our tanks, and thanks to this, when the driver will go to the real tank, we are sure that he will avoid any mistakes, because all mistakes he did on the computer. It’s very cheap. Using the tank is, unfortunately, very expensive.”
(04:31) SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) Polish Army Major General Piotr Fajkowski, commander, Combined Arms Training Centre
“This is the European Union mission. So the basic core is from European Union countries, but most of the countries in the European Union are also the members of NATO, and additionally, we have the countries which are not in the European Union, like Great Britain and Canada. They are also very engaged in the training process here in Poland.”
(04:53) SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) Polish Army Major General Piotr Fajkowski, commander, Combined Arms Training Centre
“The tanks bring new quality. We saw a lot of movies delivered to us from the Ukrainian side when Leopard tanks were fighting against the Soviet-made tanks, and after being hit twice, three, four times, this tank survived. It was able to fulfil its task and withdraw from the battlefield. So this is the new quality and, for Ukrainians, this is the power to win the war.”
