by THOMAS NEWDICK

Since first sending small numbers of unwieldy A7Vs into combat on the Western Front in March 1918, German armor designers have produced some of the finest tanks in history.

There were the early Panzers that spearheaded Blitzkrieg warfare in the early years of World War II, and the Panther medium tank that heavily influenced post-war fighting vehicle design. And don’t forget the colossal Tiger I.

During the Cold War, Germany continued its line of world-beating war machines with the Leopard 1, packing the classic British 105-millimeter L7 gun. The Federal Republic built 5,000 first-generation Leopards starting in 1965, and today hundreds of the next-gen Leopard 2s remain in front-line service.

Now to keep the tanks relevant, the German Bundeswehr is developing add-on kits and other modifications.

The upgraded Leopard 2A7 is all about adapting to the demands of unconventional warfare.

The baseline Leopard 2 entered service in 1979 to help NATO blunt a potential Warsaw Pact armored invasion. The new armored vehicles replaced many of the older, first-generation Leopards.

One of the best tanks in the world when it comes to blending firepower, protection and maneuverability—the Leopard 2 remains the German army’s standard main battle tank.

Export models serve with more than a dozen countries, and Saudi Arabia has lined up a big new order. That is, if the deal gets past a skeptical German parliament.

While a main battle tank may be costly, laborious to deploy and of potentially limited value in an urban scenario, no other fighting vehicle has the same sheer destructive power—or the psychological impact—on the battlefield.