Ukrainian servicemen begin mastering Leopard 1 tanks
28 April, 2023 Leopard 1 tank during exercise, Denmark. Photo from open sources Ukrainian servicemen have already begun to master Leopard 1 tanks.
Ukraine will start receiving eighty units of these tanks already in the second half of 2023. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius made a corresponding statement in an interview with the Spanish La Vanguardia. Answering about the number of armored vehicles transferred to Ukraine, Pistorius noted that, in addition to the tanks and Marder infantry fighting vehicles already transferred by Germany in March, the Netherlands and Denmark, together with Germany, were preparing the transfer of dozens of Leopard 1A5 tanks.
"The training of over a hundred Ukrainian soldiers on Leopard 1 tanks just started this week. The delivery of up to 80 Leopard 1 tanks will begin in the middle of the year," Pistorius said.
Leopard 1 tank
Previously, Oleksii Reznikov, Minister of Defense of Ukraine, shared that in spring, about 25 Leopard 1 tanks were to arrive in Ukraine. "There will be 20 to 25 of these tanks by the summer, about 80 by the end of the year, and over 100 Leopard 1 tanks by 2024.
This is at least three battalions, along with the materials that will need to be purchased, spare parts, ammunition, and training," said Reznikov after the meeting with his German colleague Boris Pistorius. In February of this year, it became known that the German defense company KMW (Krauss-Maffei Wegmann) started preparing Leopard 1A5 tanks to be delivered to Ukraine. Nicholas Drummond, the company's consultant, made the announcement on Twitter.
He published a photo that captured one of the vehicles being prepared for transfer in the KMW workshops.
Leopard 1A5 tank at the Krauss-Maffei Wegmann company. Source: twitter.com/nicholadrummond
Currently, it is known that Leopard 1A5 tanks will arrive in Ukraine upon undergoing the process of deconservation from storage, restoration and modernization bases.
Leopard 1
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. 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.
The Leopard 1A5 tank received a modern weapons stabilizer, thermal sighting devices and a new computerized EMES 18 fire control system. The EMES 18 was created on the basis of the modern fire control system EMES 15 borrowed from the Leopard 2 family of tanks. 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.