EUMAM Ukrainian Tank Crew Training in Germany

JOINT-FORCES has had a rare chance to take a look at EUMAM UA Tank Crew Training provided to Ukrainian troops by the German Army, reports Carl Schulze.

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On the 24nd of February 2022 the Russian Federation invaded Ukraine and, ever since, continues to fight an unlawful war against its neighbour. Right since the outbreak of hostilities, the European Union has been supporting Ukraine in its fight against the aggressor and defence of its territory.

Among other measures, the European Union’s support package for Ukraine includes the delivery of weapons and equipment such as main battle tanks. Another crucial part of the support package is to provide training for Ukrainian service personnel on weapon systems, military command and control, medical support and so on. This is done under the umbrella of the European Union Military Assistance Mission Ukraine (EUMAM UA). Recently, the JOINT-FORCES Team was given the rare chance to take a look at the Tank Crew Training provided by the German Army to Ukrainian troops as part of EUMAM UA.

Mid-December 2025, Germany, somewhere on a training area in Saxony-Anhalt: The turret of the Ukrainian Leopard 1A5DK1 is slowly traversing left and right. Through the sighting equipment of the main battle tank (MBT) the gunner and vehicle commander are scanning the given arc of the live-firing range ahead of them.

Suddenly the turret comes to a halt. The crew has identified a target for the main armament of the vehicle, the battle proven 105 mm L7A3 rifled tank gun. Now the gun barrel can be seen slightly moving left and right, up and down, while the gunner lays it on the target. The black target portrays the silhouette of an enemy MBT facing the Ukrainian Leopard 1A5DK1. A sudden sharp dipping of the muzzle indicates that the gunner has employed the vehicle’s laser range finder to measure the distance to the target. Seconds later a devastating crashing noise echoes through the trees lining the range. The Leopard 1A5DK1 is rocking slightly in its suspension while smoke is billowing out of the gun barrel. Near simultaneously, the projectile of the 105 mm Training Practice round is impacting on the target about 900 metres away.

While the target is disappearing the Leopard 1A5DK1 is surging forward, its 10-cylinder 610 kW MB 838 CaM-500 diesel/multi-fuel engine making the familiar deep drumming. The 42.4 tons of armour now thunder down a track through the middle of the range; the vehicle is still on the move when another target shows up. This time it is the moving silhouette of a truck. It takes the Ukrainian tank crew only a couple of seconds to react. Then the target is engaged with the MBT’s coaxial 7.62mm x 51 MG3A1 machine gun.

As part of the Bordkanone-Übung-1 live fire exercise the Ukrainian tankers have to engage both static and moving targets with the rifled tank gun and coaxial machine gun of their vehicle from a static position and while on the move. The live fire training is only one part of a comprehensive, several weeks long, package conducted by the German Army aimed at familiarising the Ukrainian soldiers with variants of the Leopard 1A5.

EUMAM UA: The training provided by the German Army is carried out as part of the European Union training mission EUMAM UA (European Union Military Assistance Mission Ukraine). The aim of the mission is to increase the military capabilities of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in order to allow them to defend their country and to protect its civilian population.

This training mission was agreed by European Union member states on the 17th of October 2022 at the Foreign Affairs Council. It was then launched only days later on the 15th of November 2022 and its initial operational capability was declared on the 30th of November 2022. Finally, on the 31st of May 2023 EUMAM EU was recognised officially as a mission and since then has been legally equivalent to other recognised missions; i.e. permanent standing operational tasks with framework conditions that are comparable to a special foreign assignment.

The European Union Military Planning and Conduct Capability (MPCC) in Brussels is in charge of EUMAM UA at the military-strategic level. The training measures are coordinated by two multinational sister commands, the Combined Arms Training Command (CAT-C), based in Zagan in Poland, and the Special Training Command (ST-C), based at Strausberg in Germany. The ST-C is responsible for the coordination of all EUMAM EU training conducted on German soil.

A total of 22 European Union members states as well as like-minded non-EU-member states from all around the world work together under the EUMAM UA mission in order to support Ukraine in its struggle to defend itself against Russia. These nations are Australia, Belgium, Czechia, Republic of Cyprus, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Republic of Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.

Between its establishment and December 2025 well over 85,000 Ukrainian service personnel have been trained under the EUMAM UA mission. Over 24,000 of them were put through their training in Germany. Training conducted in Germany includes, among other topics, military leadership, military mission planning, infantry fighting skills, demining, first aid / medical treatment and weapon system familiarisation; for example with the Patriot surface-to-air missile system, the Marder 1A3 armoured infantry fighting vehicle or the Leopard 1A5 main battle tank.

According to information provided by EUMAM UA, the equipment required for the training is provided by the European Union member states, with common funding provided through the European Peace Facility.

Tank Crew Training: The Tank Crew Training package visited by JOINT-FORCES is aimed at familiarising the Ukrainian soldiers with variants of the Leopard 1A5, and is broken down in two major parts. The first part is conducted by the defence industry and is focused on the technology, sub-systems and interaction of the parts of the vehicle. Within this period the new Ukrainian tankers are also trained to drive the variants of the Leopard 1A5 main battle tank.

The second part of the Tank Crew Training is conducted by a training team of the German Army, provide by one of its tank battalions, and assisted by several German soldiers speaking the Ukrainian or Russian languages. It is fully packed with theoretical and practical parts, all aimed at providing the participating tank crews with the necessary skills to allow them to employ the variants of the Leopard 1A5 in battle and to survive an engagement. Parts of the theoretical training are conducted as computer assisted training using the Steel Beasts Professional off-the-shelf simulation software developed by eSim Games LLC. The practical part is mainly focused on tank tactics, combat skills and live firing.

As part of the tank tactics and combat skills training the crews learn, for example, to operate their tanks in an operational environment, including using the countryside to their advantage, deploying a marching column into different formations and fighting in these formations. Also associated with the tactics training is the employment of the MBT in an indirect fire role. Parallel to the tank tactics and combat skills training the crews are taught tank recovery skills, changing the power pack and first aid. The bulk of this training is conducted day and night.

Finally, the crews are trained to operate the weapons of their Leopard 1A5 variant efficiently in a live fire package lasting several days. This starts with zeroing training for the 105mm L7A3 rifled tank gun and coaxial 7.62mm x 51 MG3A1 machine gun of the MBT. Then it moves on to the Bordkanone-Übung-1 live fire exercise. As part of this, the Ukrainian tankers have to engage static and moving targets with the tank gun and coaxial machine gun from a static position and while on the move.

In conclusion: Within the German Army the dual training for a gunner and loader of the more modern Leopard 2A6 or Leopard 2A7 MBTs alone takes three months. To become a tank commander on these vehicles another six month of tank training has to be added on top. In order to develop the training package for the Ukrainian tankers, the German Army used the training plan for its own tank crews and stripped away everything that was not absolutely essential. As part of the training package drivers, gunners, loaders and vehicle commanders are simultaneously trained, so that the end result is a functioning tank crew.

[images © Carl Schulze 2004 and 2025]

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¤ See also:- Leopard 1A5DK and 1A5DK1 Tanks for Ukraine