Defence Team News Interview with Maj Lapointe and Cpl Cobb, on the Leopard tanks donation to Ukraine
Video / March 27, 2023
Transcript
Cpl Nicholas Cobb : When the mission came down that we had something very real to do with these things and they had to be ready, people jumped on board. They were so happy to be part of it. Myself, I was happy to be part of it as well. You know, nine plus days of 8 a.m. until midnights. You don't see your family, you don't eat supper with your parents, any of that. You just work on tanks. And I was so proud to be part of that and to represent my country, and to push these vehicles to Eastern Europe where they're going to be used to train people who need them.
Genevieve Germano : The Government of Canada recently announced the donation of Leopard 2A4 tanks to Ukraine, in an effort to help liberate the country from Russian invasion. Today we're joined by Major Jordan Lapointe, Officer Commanding C Squadron with the Royal Canadian Dragoons, and Corporal Nicholas Cobb, Leopard 2 Loader and Crew Member at C Squadron. They're going to tell us more about the tanks, as well as their preparation and movement prior to their delivery.
Genevieve Germano : Can you tell us a little bit about the capabilities and firepower that the tanks offer in the modern battlefield?
Major Jordan Lapointe : Certainly. So, the main battle tank within the Canadian Army, the purpose is to defeat the enemy using aggressive fire power in battlefield mobility. And so, as such, there's really three categories that the Leopard 2 provides to the Canadian Army, which is not replicated elsewhere. The first one being a protection. So, the Leopard 2 main battle tank provides protection, not only to its crew members in order to ensure mission success and task completion, but also provides protection to some of the other combat arms and enablers that we work with on the modern battlefield. The other component to this is the firepower the Leopard 2 provides, which is not replicated elsewhere in the Canadian Army. So, using the Leopard 2's main armament - the 120-millimetre smooth-bore cannon - Leopard 2 crews have the ability to acquire and engage enemy up to distances of five kilometres in a direct fire role, all depending on the variant of the tank and the components of the fire control system. In a semi-indirect fire role, we have the ability to acquire and suppress and neutralize enemy targets outwards of that five kilometres. And finally, the Leopard 2 main battle tank provides enhanced mobility, which cannot be replicated by other wheeled platforms in the Canadian Army, seeing as though the Leopard is a tracked vehicle.
Genevieve Germano : And I understand that the tanks were transported from Gagetown, New Brunswick to Halifax, Nova Scotia. Why was that movement required, and how was it accomplished?
Cpl Nicholas Cobb : As you can imagine, we can't just drive the tanks down to Nova Scotia. The tanks would have to be shipped by flatbed, and they can only go overseas by plane or by boat. In order to ship these vehicles, we had to put them on a plane where they were sent overseas to Eastern Europe, where they are currently being used to train Ukrainians.
Genevieve Germano : Is there anything else you'd like to add?
Major Jordan Lapointe : Yes, certainly. Well, it's never easy losing serviceable tanks from our fleet here in C Squadron RCD. There's a great deal of pride by both the members of C Squadron and within the Royal Canadian Armoured Corp community when it comes to maintaining our fleet of vehicles. And so, there's a great deal of pride and we're committed to the Government of Canada in terms of providing capabilities to Ukraine and the Armed Forces of Ukraine in terms of deterring future Russian aggression. Both my Sergeant Major and I are incredibly proud of the hard work that has gone in order to have them deployed to Eastern Europe, where we can train Ukrainians and get them into the hands of Ukrainians to be used on the battlefield.
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