ELBO Leonidas-2

Leonidas-2
Leonidas APCs of ELDYK ΛΕΩΝΙΔΑΣ
Type	Armoured personnel carrier
Place of origin	Greece
Service history
In service	1981–present
Production history
Produced	Austria 1976 Greece 1981-today
Specifications
Weight	14.8 t
Length	5.87 m
Width	2.50 m
Height	1.611 m
Crew	2 + 8 passengers
Armor	welded steel 26-32mm front 15mm sides and rear
Main armament	1 x 12.7 mm MG 1,500 rounds
Secondary armament	1 x 7.62 mm MG3
Engine	STEYR 7FA inline 6-cylinder water-cooled diesel 320 hp (745 kW) at 2,300 rpm
Power/weight	21.62 hp/t
Transmission	ZF Synchronized, 6 gears forward and 1 reverse.
Suspension	torsion bar
Ground clearance	vertical obstacle: 0.8 m trench: 2.1 m
Operational range	520 km
Speed	70 km/h

The Leonidas-2 represented an effort made by the Greek vehicle manufacturer ELBO to produce an advanced armoured personnel carrier of its own. It is named after Leonidas, the king of the ancient city-state of Sparta. The first version of the Leonidas was the Austrian Saurer 4K 4FA Armored Personnel Carrier built with minor modifications by the Greek company from 1981 until 1987 (when it was still called Steyr Hellas S.A.). Initial production was essentially assembly, however Greek content progressively increased up to real manufacture. The APC had a 320hp engine and a weight of 14.8 tons.

The 'Leonidas-2' development involved extensive modification of the previous model, done by ELBO itself in 1987 with the aim to essentially develop it as an Armored Infantry Fighting Vehicle (AIFV). The new version had a weight of 18.8 tons and it used a 450hp engine; maximum speed was 70 km/h. The construction of the turret became a matter of debates involving interested companies (three versions with different types of turrets were proposed, while there were "demands" that the turret should constructed by EBO), but the vehicle was finally produced without turret. About 700 were produced, including a number exported to Cyprus. Plans to develop further the vehicle as 'Leonidas-3' for different roles were abandoned in 2002, as the vehicle was considered outdated. ELBO continued efforts for a modern AIFV development, starting cooperation in 1988 with Steyr-Daimler-Puch of Austria on a joint development, but soon pulled out due to the high cost of the vehicle compared to the Greek Army specifications (Santa Barbara of Spain continued development with the Austrian company, resulting in the Ulan/ASCOD Pizarro AIFV). Eventually ELBO moved entirely on its own, developing a completely new Armored Infantry Fighting Vehicle, introducing Kentaurus in 1998.

Leonidas production

Production history

Year	Origin of order	Quantity	Notes
1981	Greece	2	Leonidas 1 version. 2 prototypes delivered from Austria for testing
1981	Greece	100	Leonidas 1 version. Delivered between 1982 and 1983, originally only assembled in Greece, progressively Greek participation increased (including manufacture of certain parts)
1986	Cyprus	56	Leonidas 2 version. 16 produced in Austria, 40 in Greece.
1987	Greece	344	Leonidas 2 version. Produced in Greece.
1993	Cyprus	76	Leonidas 2 version. Produced in Greece.
1995	Cyprus	65	Leonidas 2 version. Produced in Greece.
1998	Greece	57	Leonidas 2 version with new automatic transmission. Produced in Greece.
Total		700	503 vehicles delivered to Greece. 197 vehicles delivered to Cyprus.

See also

ELBO Kentaurus
Saurer 4K 4FA

External links

• ELBO - Leonidas