The Tank Museum’s Australian Army Leopard AS1 Tank was on display at Talkfest 26.
The Leopard AS1 was a custom-modified variant of the West German-designed Leopard 1 main battle tank, brought into Australian Army service in 1977 to replace the aging Centurion fleet. First entering original service in 1965, the brilliantly engineered Leopard marked a fundamental shift away from WWII-era heavy armour, prioritising cross-country speed, agility, and high mobility alongside a powerful 105mm L7 rifled gun—a combination that made it an immense success on the international export market. Australia’s bespoke version, designated AS1 (using the NATO country code ‘AS’ for Australia), incorporated localised adaptations, including advanced SABCA fire-control systems, tropicalisation kits for heat management, tailored air filtration, and specialised storage for long-range operations in harsh environments. Although the Leopard AS1 never saw active combat during its three decades of operation, it served as the core armoured punch of the Royal Australian Armoured Corps until its official retirement in 2007, when it was succeeded by the American-built M1A1 Abrams.