Leopard 1 to arrive in Ukraine already at the beginning of June

5 May, 2023 Ukrainian military personnel during training on Leopard 1 tanks in Germany, May 5, 2023. Photo credits: Reuters Minister of Defense of Denmark Troels Lund Poulsen and Minister of Defense of Germany Boris Pistorius have visited the training center in Germany where the training of the Ukrainian military on Leopard 1A5DK tanks began.

The news was published by Danish TV 2. During the visit, Poulsen said that the training of the Ukrainian military on Leopard 1 tanks would take about a month. According to the Danish minister, the transfer of 80 tanks should take place by June 1.

"This contribution, the first deliveries of which we will soon see, we would call very, very large. We are delivering 80 Leopard 1 tanks, which is a very significant number," said Troels Lund Poulsen.

Ukrainscy zolnierze podczas szkolenia na czolgach Leopard 1 w Niemczech.

5 maja 2023 r. Zdjecie: Reuters

Ukrainscy zolnierze podczas szkolenia na czolgach Leopard 1 w Niemczech.

5 maja 2023 r. Zdjecie: Reuters

It regards the supply to Ukraine of 80 Leopard 1A5DK tanks after repair, which were purchased by the German company FFG after their final withdrawal from the Danish army in 2005. The Danish and German sides have allocated EUR3 million for the repair and modernization of these tanks.

The German concern Krauss-Maffei Wegmann started preparing Leopard 1A5 tanks for delivery to Ukraine at the beginning of February.

Leopard 1A5 tank at the Krauss-Maffei Wegmann company. Source: twitter.com/nicholadrummond

The Danish Leopard 1A5DK tanks are a modified version of the welded-turret Leopard 1A3 tanks that were brought up to the Leopard 1A5 level in the early 1990s. During the modernization, the tank received a modern weapons stabilizer, thermal imaging sights and a new computerized EMES 18 fire control system.

This system was created on the basis of the modern EMES 15 fire control system borrowed from the Leopard 2 family of tanks. The tank is armed with a 105-mm L7A3 gun, capable of firing all standard 105-mm shells produced by the NATO countries. Its ammunition is unified with the Slovenian M-55S tanks approved for use in the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

In general, as part of the joint project of Denmark, the Netherlands and Germany, 187 Leopard tanks will be transferred to Ukraine: 88 tanks from the reserves of the German company Rheinmetall and another 99 from the Danish FFG.

The countries will supply spare parts and ammunition, and the Netherlands will also participate in the training of Ukrainian crews.