Leopard 1A5 tanks financed by a cooperation between Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands have been delivered to Ukraine, reports Carl Schulze.
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When JOINT-FORCES was recently given access to EUMAM Ukrainian Tank Crew Training this was being conducted using Leopard 1A5 variants of Danish origin, which is why we would like to provide readers with a brief history and specification of these vehicles.
According to official Federal Government of Germany information a total of 103 Leopard 1A5 main battle tank variants, financed by a cooperation between Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands, had already been delivered to the Ukrainian Armed Forces and by 17th April 2025 another 22 Leopard tanks were earmarked to soon be delivered. The bulk of these vehicles were surplus Danish Army Leopard 1A5DK and Leopard 1A5DK1 variants, but at least 25 of the overall total were former Belgian Army Leopard 1A5BE versions.
Originally the Danish Army procured 120 Leopard 1A3DK tanks. The contract with the German manufacturer Krauss-Maffei AG for these vehicles was signed on 27 June 1974 and they were destined to replace half of Denmark’s ageing fleet of Centurion Mk. 5 main battle tanks. The first series production Leopard 1A3DK arrived in Denmark on 01 March 1976 and deliveries were completed in 1978. These vehicles were employed by the Danish tank units based on the Jutland Peninsula, while the Zealand-based units continued to operate Centurion Mk. 5 tanks. It was not until the early 1990s that the Centurion Mk. 5 tanks were also replaced. By then the Cold War had ended and Denmark procured 100 Leopard 1A3 and 10 Leopard 1A4 MBTs from supernumerary German Bundeswehr stocks. Like the Leopard 1A3DK, these vehicles also featured the all-welded turret incorporating spaced armour and a wedge-shaped gun mantlet.
Between 1992 and 1993 all Danish Leopard 1 MBTs were brought up to Leopard 1A5DK standard. The major modifications for this improvement were the installation of the EMES 18 fire control system, incorporating an integrated day and thermal night sight with laser range finder, a muzzle reference system with collimator, electrics for the gyro-stabilisation system of the main gun and a fire control computer for calculation of ballistic data.
From October 1993 onwards up until August 2003 Danish Leopard 1 MBTs were deployed to Bosnia: initially with the United Nations Protection Force or UNPROFOR; in 1995/6 with the Implementation Force or IFOR; and finally with the Stabilisation Force or SFOR. For the initial UNPROFOR deployment the Leopard 1A5DKs were fitted with a white light searchlight and from late 1995 onwards vehicles were fitted with an armoured cover for their primary sight.
Earmarked for operations in the Balkans, between 1997 and 2000 a total of 36 vehicles were upgraded to Leopard 1A5DK1 standard. The major modifications for this included installing an air-conditioning system in the right rear turret bin, mounting a generator on the rear of the turret bustle, installing a second set of radios and GPS, and fitting a new fire suppression system. The latter was eventually also fitted to all remaining Leopard 1A5DK. It was Leopard 1A5DK1 versions that were deployed with the Danish Kosovo Force (KFOR) contingent in 1999 and 2000.
in 2004 and 2005 the entire fleet of Danish Leopard 1A5DK and Leopard 1A5DK1 tanks was retired from service, being replaced during this period by a fleet of 57 Leopard 2A5 main battle tanks. Around 2010 the manufacturer FFG (Flensburger Fahrzeugbau Gesellschaft mbH) bought 99 surplus Leopard 1A5DK and Leopard 1A5DK1 from Denmark; the plan being to convert them into support vehicles such as armoured engineer vehicles and armoured recovery vehicles.
But, as we know, things turned out differently. In February 2023 the governments of Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands announced that they would supply Leopard 1A5 MBTs to Ukraine; the bulk of these were to be the vehicles owned by FFG. The company was also selected as general contractor for the refurbishment of the vehicles prior to their delivery. The first batch of Danish Leopard 1A5DK and Leopard 1A5DK1 tanks was eventually delivered to Ukraine in September 2023.
Leopard 1A5DK1 Main Battle Tank Technical Data
- Crew: Four soldiers (Commander, Driver, Gunner and Loader)
- Combat weight: 42.4 tons
- Length, gun forward: 9.54m
- Length, gun rearward: 8.29m
- Width: 3.41m
- Height: 2.8m, including anti-aircraft machine gun
- Armament: 1x 105mm L7A3 rifled tank gun, 1x coaxial 7.62mm x 51 MG3A1 machine gun, 1x 7.62mm x 51 MG3 anti-aircraft machine gun and two banks of 4x 76mm smoke grenade dischargers
- Engine: V10-cylinder MTU MB 838 Ca M500 37.4 litre diesel/multi-fuel engine developing 830hp
- Transmission: ZF Hydromedia 4 HP 250 planetary shift and steering transmission with hydraulic torque converter, featuring four forward and two reverse gears
- Suspension: seven torsion bars and five hydraulic shock absorbers per side
- Top speed, forward: 62km/h
- Top speed, reverse: 24km/h
- Turning radius, when pivot turning with turret in 06:00 o’clock position: 4.96m
- Fording without preparation: 1.2m
- Fording with deep fording kit: 2.25m
- Underwater driving with special kit: 4.0m
- Trench crossing: 2.5m
- Climbing vertical step: 1.15m
- Gradient: 60%
- Traversing: 30%
- Road range: 450km
- Fuel capacity: 985 litres
[images © Carl Schulze 1996 – 2025]
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