The most popular tank in the world isn’t American; it’s a big cat in service with more than 20 countries worldwide. The Kampfpanzer Leopard 2, which Germany designed and built in the 1970s, is one of the most widely used tanks in the world, and is by far the most popular tank in NATO’s inventory. It was so advanced for its time that even the mighty American M1 Abrams has some Leopard 2 DNA in it.

Now, nearly a year after Russia invaded Ukraine, NATO is set to send up to 54 Leopard 2s to energize the Ukrainian army. The tanks, sent from NATO nations including Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, Norway, and Portugal, will arm Kyiv with a better, more powerful tank fleet than ever before. In small numbers or large, however, the Leopard 2 would be a much better tank than anything fielded by the mighty Russian Armed Forces.

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To understand what made the Leopard 2 the most popular tank in the world, we have to go back to the Cold War itself. In 1955, a decade after World War II, Germany reconstituted its armed forces. At the time, Germany was split in two: West Germany, an ally of the United States and a member of NATO; and East Germany, an ally of the Soviet Union and a member of the Warsaw Pact. West Germany established the Bundeswehr, or Federal Armed Forces, and under it, the Heer, or German Army.

Read more: Popular Mechanics