ELVO Leonidas-2

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

Leonidas-2
Leonidas APCs of the Hellenic Force in Cyprus (ELDYK)
TypeArmoured personnel carrier
Place of originGreece/ Austria
Service history
In service1981–present
Used byGreece
Cyprus
North Macedonia
Production history
ProducedAustria 1976
Greece 1981-2001
No. builtc. 800
Specifications
Mass14.8 t
Length5.87 m (19 ft 3 in)
Width2.50 m (8 ft 2 in)
Height1.7 m (5 ft 7 in)
Crew2
Passengers8
Armourwelded steel
26-32 mm front
15 mm sides and rear
Main
armament
1 x 12.7 mm MG
1,500 rounds
Secondary
armament
1 x 7.62 mm MG3
EngineSteyr 7FA inline 6-cylinder water-cooled diesel
320 hp (745 kW) at 2,300 rpm
Power/weight21.62 hp/t
TransmissionZF Synchronized, 6 gears forward and 1 reverse
Suspensiontorsion bar
Ground clearancevertical obstacle: 0.8 m
trench: 2.1 m
Operational
range
520 km (320 mi)
Maximum speed 63 km/h (39 mph)

Design and development

The 'Leonidas-2' development involved extensive modification of the previous model. This was done by ELVO in 1987 with the aim to essentially develop it as an armoured infantry fighting vehicle (AIFV). The new version had a weight of 18.8 tons and it used a 450 hp 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 a turret. About 700 were produced, including a number exported to Cyprus. Plans to develop the vehicle further as 'Leonidas-3' for different roles were abandoned in 2002, as the vehicle was considered outdated. ELVO 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 Bárbara Sistemas of Spain continued development with the Austrian company, resulting in the ASCOD Ulan/Pizarro AIFV). Eventually ELVO worked on its own, developing a completely new armoured infantry fighting vehicle, the Kentaurus in 1998.

Leonidas production

The table below shows the production run based on the history of publicly known orders, as published in the press.[1] The total appears as 700 vehicles, yet the company ELVO in its internet site mentions a total production of "about 800 vehicles"[2]

Production history[3]
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 built in Austria, 40 in Greece.
1987 Greece 344 Leonidas 2 version.
Built in Greece.
1993 Cyprus 76 Leonidas 2 version.
Built in Greece.
1995 Cyprus 65 Leonidas 2 version.
Built in Greece.
1998 Greece 57 Leonidas 2 version.
Built in Greece.
2001 North Macedonia (donation from Greece) 10 Leonidas 2 version with new automatic transmission.
Built in Greece.
Total 700 503 vehicles delivered to Greece.
197 vehicles delivered to Cyprus.

Operators
Map of ELVO Leonidas operators in blue

Current operators

See also

Notes
  1. "ΤΟΜΠ Λεωνίδας Ι/ΙΙ" in "Ελληνική Άμυνα & Ασφάλεια" journal, issue 27, May 2008 (Greek)
  2. http://www.elvo.gr/el/content/Τεθωρακισμένα.44/
  3. "ΤΟΜΠ Λεωνίδας Ι/ΙΙ" in "Ελληνική Άμυνα & Ασφάλεια" journal, issue 27, May 2008 (Greek)
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