The Leopard 2 has been built under production license in three other countries, and operated in various forms by 21 nations. Around 3,600 Leopard 2s of various types have been built since, seeing action in the Afghanistan War and the Syrian Civil War. The German Leopard 2 was first introduced in 1979, one year before the M1 Abrams. This combined image shows an M-1A1 Abrams tank, main image and a Leopard 2 tank, inset. Newsweek has collated the most important technical specifications of the two MBT platforms that are the focus of so much debate as the pivotal meeting at the U.S.

Diesel-powered Leopard 2s, the Pentagon says, make more sense.

The Pentagon dismissed the suggestion, noting that using American M1 Abrams MBTs would pose significant logistical challenges for Ukraine, primarily because they generally run on jet fuel rather than diesel. A spokesperson for the chancellor told The Wall Street Journal that Berlin would not send MBTs until the U.S. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has thus far refused to approve Leopard 2 transfers to Ukraine. Kyiv hopes that Friday's Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting in Ramstein, Germany will end with Berlin signing off on Leopard 2s-either Germany's own, or those operated by NATO allies-heading eastwards to Ukrainian battlefields. Ukrainian commanders believe some 300 Western main battle tanks (MBTs) will be enough to help their troops eject all Russian forces from their territory in the coming months. The tank-of which about 2,000 are used by a number of NATO nations-is considered to be one of the most formidable in the world. The German-made Leopard 2 main battle tank is at the top of Ukraine's shopping list as Kyiv lobbies its Western partners to expand military aid.

American main battle tank