Rolls-Royce and FFG Flensburger Fahrzeugbau Gesellschaft will change the mtu engine for the Leopard 1 family of platforms – including the main battle tank. Credit: Rolls-Royce.

Rolls-Royce and FFG have announced that they will repower the Leopard 1 family of vehicles – a tracked platform model that approaches its 60th year of active service.

The engine will replace the existing mtu MB838 engine, which is no longer in production, with a more modern mtu 8V199 engine. The first of these legacy vehicles to be upgraded will be the Leopard 1 main battle tank (MBT) and the Wisent 1 armoured multi-purpose vehicle.

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Down the line, this may extend to other platforms including the BPz2 armoured recovery vehicle, the Biber armoured bridge-laying vehicle, the Dachs armoured engineer vehicle and the Gepard. All of these are still in widespread use today.

The use of the 8V199 offers an output of 800 kilowatts (kW), which is 190kW more powerful than the original engine. It is also cheaper, lighter and has longer service intervals and a longer service life.

No new platforms for some nations

“Replacing the Leopard 1 fleets with more modern vehicles is not financially viable for many armies,” the British engine manufacturer asserted in an update on 4 September 2024, “which is why there is a need to preserve them for long-term use.”

There are 4,700 Leopard 1s still used in nine nations across five continents – and that is just the tank.

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Though the model has been continually updated over the last several decades, the family of vehicles need to operate according to a new level of technological advancement for several more.

Take Ukraine as an example: a country with less financial sway to invest in the latest Leopard 2A8 iteration, and so it must instead rely on a plan for 105 restored legacy units from the inventories of its allies.

“This concept will be an excellent opportunity for many armies to adapt to the changed security situation at a reasonable cost and within a manageable period of time,” said Jorg Kamper, managing director of FFG.

8V199 engine

The mtu Series 199 is tried and proven in many military vehicle types and is known, famously, to power the Boxer mechanised vehicle family, among others. 

As part of the latest effort to restore the utility of the Leopard, FFG, the Flensburg-based partner, will develop and manufacture a power pack based on the mtu 8V199 and is also responsible for the cooling concept and interface adaptations to the overall system.

Crucially, the aim is to provide a ‘plug-and-play’ solution for all variants.

FFG has extensive experience in upgrading Leopard 1 variants. Together with ZF, FFG will also ensure the stability and long-term security of supply of the 4HP250 transmission. To this end, ZF will ensure continuous further development of the 4HP250 and provide technical support for operation with the 8V199 engine.