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ELVO Leonidas-2

1981 ARMORED PERSONNEL CARRIER COLD WAR MODERN

History of ELVO Leonidas-2

The Greek Army (known as the "Greek Army") once relied on the ELVO "Leonidas" armored personnel carrier (APC), and this machine was based on the Austrian Sauer-Werk 4K 4FA. It has a crew of 2, can transport 8 combat-ready personnel, and is powered by a 6-cylinder diesel engine.

The Greek version is equipped with an M2 Browning Heavy Machine Gun (HMG), locally produced by ELVO since 1981. By mid-1987, the search for an improved successor began, with additional work on the line beginning with the "Leonidas-2" brand design work that began in 1987.

The Leonidas-2 is a heavier vehicle, weighing 18.8 tons (compared to the original 14.8 tons), with a more powerful 450 hp engine (compared to 320 hp). Road speeds have increased by almost 5 mph, and the armor protection is welded from steel up to 32mm thick. Armament is a 12.7mm HMG, usually paired with a 7.62mm Medium Machine Gun (MMG). The diesel engine is linked to a drivetrain that offers six forward gears and one reverse. The hull is mounted on a torsion bar suspension system for off-road touring.

The range is 320 miles.

The Leonidas-2 was originally intended to have a turret that could house a 25mm or 40mm autocannon - classifying it as an Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV) rather than an APC - but ran into design and manufacturing issues because The vehicle carries only one machine gun weapon.

Leonidas-2 produced a total of 700 and 800 samples (different sources) and exported to Cyprus (197 samples) and Macedonia. ELVO tried to improve the Leonidas 2 series to keep the vehicles relevant on the modern battlefield, but the proposed "Leonidas 3" plan failed - mainly because the basic design was outdated.

The all-Greek-designed IFV "Kentaurus" (described in detail elsewhere on this page) was intended as a replacement, but the program ran into its own hurdles and was not yet officially in service with the Greek army.