Nah mate, we're not comparing them ! I'm sure the Leopards are a formidable piece of equipment but we're just asking wouldn't it be something if (forget the Al-Khalids...we think highly of them but..forget it !) Saudia Arabia had instead gone for a joint venture with Turkey for an unpgraded Altay built as per Saudi specifications ? Between the M-1A2s and the existing Leopards the Saudi Armed Forces have more than an admirable armored foot print and with no immediate threat looming in the near future wouldn't it be a worthwhile exercise to actually be engaged in a project where you take part in everything from the designing to the prototype and then re-designing and finally manufacturing a world-class MBT like the Altay, in contrast to getting the blue-prints for manufacturing a Leopard ! You tell which of the two would be a better learning experience ? Which of the two would have a greater opportunity to improve upon the design drastically as per your own specifications ? Which if the two would give a greater independence to the Saudi Armed Forces and which of the two would benefit the defense industry in the Muslim world the most ?
To hell with us Pakistanis with our Al-Khalids but the Altays are a sweet...sweet tank worth looking at ! Had the Saudi High Command made the decision to join up with the Turks in the initial stages of the Altay....I'm sure the two of you would have been able to attract even a European country in addition to the Koreans who made some sort of contribution to the project !
But what do I know...? There is a reason why I'm sitting on my arse a 1000 miles from you whilst the Saudis who get to make these calls are sitting in the GHQ in Saudi Arabia !