Preparation of the first Leopard 1 tanks for Ukraine from Denmark is being completed
15 April, 2023 Leopard 1 tank during firing, Denmark. Photo from open sources. The preparation of the first Leopard 1 tanks, which Denmark intends to send to Ukraine in cooperation with other countries, is coming to an end.
Troels Lund Poulsen, Acting Minister of Defense made a corresponding announcement. The tanks will be delivered under the Danish-German-Dutch project. It regards the transfer of at least 100 Leopard 1 tanks to Ukraine.
On Friday, Poulsen visited the German company Flensburger Fahrzeugbau Gesellschaft (FFG) together with members of the defense committee and the Danish Foreign Policy Council.
Repair of Leopard 1 tanks at Flensburger Fahrzeugbau Gesellschaft for Ukraine. April 2023. Photo credits: Ministry of Defense of Denmark
The FFG is responsible for the restoration of the former Danish Leopard 1A5 tanks, which will soon go to Ukraine.
"I am very happy to be able to invite parliamentarians to Flensburger Fahrzeugbau Gesellschaft so they can also see how far we have come in the process of restoring the Leopard 1 tanks. And we hope to be able to send them to Ukraine very soon," Poulsen said. Officials also had the opportunity to discuss the ongoing upgrade of the Leopard 1 tanks with the head of the FFG.
The minister noted that it was a great and important contribution of Denmark to the fight for Ukraine's freedom. Modernization of a significant number of Leopard 1A5 tanks began at the beginning of February. The first intermediate goal of the joint Danish-German-Dutch project is the possibility of supplying tanks to equip two battalions in the coming months.
The Ministry of Defense of Denmark notes that it regards 80 tanks.
Leopard 1 tank at Flensburger Fahrzeugbau Gesellschaft. Photo credits: Alliance/dpa
The first Leopard 1A5 tanks are expected to be ready for use by Ukrainian crews in the coming weeks. As part of this project, they plan to train servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and transfer spare parts and ammunition.
Leopard 1 is the main battle tank produced by the German concern Krauss-Maffei Wegmann. Between 1964 and 1984 a total of 4,700 units of various modifications were manufactured. The Leopard 1A5 is the most advanced production model of this tank family.
Leopard 1A5 tanks of the Danish Armed Forces.
Photo from open sources
The Leopard 1A5 is armed with an L7A3 105mm gun capable of firing all standard 105 mm projectiles manufactured by NATO countries. In total, the tank has 60 rounds of ammunition.
18 of them are the first-stage ammunition in the turret, and another 42 rounds are stored in the hull. The gun has a maximum effective range of up to 3,000 meters.
Leopard 1A5 secondary armament includes a 7.62mm coaxial machine gun mounted to the right of the turret.
The second 7.62mm machine gun is mounted on top of the turret at the commander's hatch.