According to a joint statement published by the Defense Ministers of Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands on February 7, 2023, Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands will provide Ukraine with 100 refurbished Leopard 1A5 Main Battle Tanks (MBTs) coming from private defense company stocks.
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German Leopard 1A5 Main Battle Tank MBT. (Picture source KMW)
Together, Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands will significantly enhance Ukraine’s military potential to fight Russian troops after the invasion of the country in February 2022. Within the coming months, Ukraine will receive at least 100 Leopard 1A5 Main Battle Tanks (MBTs), including the required logistic support and training. Citing information published on the joint statement, Belgium has also shown initial interest to participate.
Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands are providing refurbished Leopard 1A5 MBTs from industrial stocks; the first ones being delivered within a few months. In doing so, we are guided by the needs of Ukraine. Our initiative includes training on the Leopard 1A5 tanks as well as a “spare parts and ammunition package”.
The Leopard 1A5 is the latest version in the Leopard 1 tank family that entered into service with the German army in 1984. It keeps the design of the previous version of the Leopard 1 but the turret is fitted with add-on armor mounted on the sides. The tank has a crew of four including a driver seated at the front right side of the hull and the commander, gunner, and loader in the turret. The engine compartment at the rear is separated from the fighting compartment by a fireproof bulkhead.
The main armament of the Leopard 1A5 consists of one 105mm L7A3 cannon able to fire all the standard NATO 105 mm rounds manufactured by Canada, France, Germany, Israel, the UK, and the United States. The tank carries a total of 60 rounds including 42 ammunition stored in the hull and 18 in the turret. The cannon has a maximum firing range of 2,500m. The second armament includes one 7.62mm machine gun mounted to the right of the main armament and one 7.62mm machine gun which can be mounted on the commander or loader hatch.
The armor at the front of th the hull provides protection against the firing of 30mm automatic cannon while the other parts of the hull and the turret is able to withstand small caliber arms fire and artillery shell splinters. The tank has a length of 9.54 with the gun in the forward position, a width of 3.41mm, and a height of 2.76 m with a combat weight of 40,400 kg.
The Leopard 1A5 is powered by an MTU MB 838 CaM 500 Multi-fuel engine developing 830 hp coupled to a ZF 4 HP 250 ZF transmission with 4 forward and 2 reverse gears. The tank can run at a maximum road speed of 65 km/h with a maximum cruising range of 600 km.
