Ukraine - Leopard 1
The first ten Leopard 1 tanks donated by Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands arrived in Ukraine 08 September 2023. "The first 10 tanks have been sent to Ukraine. And more are on the way. A further 10 tanks have been delivered from the factory," the Danish Armed Forces said in a statement. According to the report, the Danish troops in Germany are training Ukrainian forces to use the vehicles. "I have no doubt that it will help them win the defense battle they are fighting right now," army commander Gunner Arpe Nielsen said in the statement.
On 15 November 2023 the Ukrainian government has awarded Rheinmetall a contract for Leopard 1 systems, including 25 main battle tanks Leopard 1A5, five armoured recovery vehicles (Bergepanzer 2) and two driver training tanks. The order, financed by Germany and worth a figure in the upper-two-digit million-euro range, also includes training, logistics, spare parts, maintenance and other support services. Delivery is due to take place in 2024. The Leopard 1 systems are currently being overhauled and readied for use at Rheinmetalls plants in Unterl and Kassel. Rheinmetall thus continues to support Ukraine with a steady flow of tactical vehicles. The Group has previously been tasked with supplying Ukraine with a total of eighty Marder infantry fighting vehicles. Most of these are already in-country, where they have proved their mettle in ongoing operations.
Ukraine will have to adjust the tactics of using Western armored vehicles due to the supply of outdated models of German Leopard 1A5 tanks. This opinion was expressed on 09 November 2023 by Forbes magazine military columnist David Ax. He believes that the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), which at the moment can count on supplies of Soviet T-72 tanks and German Leopard 1A5 tanks stored in the West, need to change the tactics of using armored formations, taking into account all the shortcomings of this equipment compared to more modern models , received by Kiev in much smaller quantities. In particular, the expert noted the thin armor of the first generation Leopard.
Taking into account all the advantages and disadvantages of these tanks, the reviewer suggests using them "where they can move quickly, stay in cover and shoot from a [long] distance." The observer emphasizes that the Ukrainian Armed Forces should not operate the Leopard 1A5 in small groups without infantry support, as was the case with the more modern Leopard 2.
The Leopard- 1 medium tank is the predecessor of the vastly improved Leopard- 2 main battle tank, with which it shares a name and not much else. The Leopard- 1 is thin skinned, with armor initially designed to resist only 20mm projectiles. The obsolecent 105mm main gun is incapable of defeating the frontal armor of modern Russian tanks. The Leopard- 1 would provide overmatch against most Russian infantry fighting vehicles and serve as an infantry support assault gun, but not as a tank destroyer.
Usually it's the tank that sees first and shoots first that wins. Any tank is better than no tank, and in a reserve or defensive role that frees up Ukraine's more capable armoured units, then even older tanks could be quite useful. Older vehicles can serve as an infantry support vehicle with better armor than most IFVs, but not used as an MBT. Older tanks can destroy armored troop carriers, and control roads from troops and transports where tanks aren’t going to be encountered.
From Manstein's controversial papers of the 1930's to modern times, the assault gun has proved itself to be both an effective and economical weapon. The concept of placing infantry support/anti-tank weapons on obsolete tank hulls offered many advantages. First, they are cheap and easy to produce. Little time and money was wasted on research and development. Both the gun and carriage were time-tested and “soldier-proofed†before they were adopted. Once in the field, existing repair and maintenance facilities could be used without further training or retooling. Spare parts were already in the supply pipelines. All this reduced the logistical burden.
In 1935, Manstein had risked his career by arguing for the concept of an assault gun despite high level hostility to such an idea. Manstein's solution was to adopt a "turretless tank†mounting a high powered artillery gun, capable of firing high explosive or solid shot ammunition. He envisioned these guns moving with the infantry in the assault waves of an attack, or located along the FEBA in a defena sive position. They could deliver accurate, pinpoint fire on targets not suitable for normal, indirect fires. Their three main missions would be to provide covering fire in the attack, close defensive fires, and to lend density to the fires of the field artillery.
Greece may transfer up to 100 Leopard 1A5 tanks to Germany for exchange, which will subsequently go to Ukraine. This was reported by the Greek edition of Flight 28 August 2023. Germany wants to buy about 100 Leopard 1A5 tanks, which the Italian army retired at the beginning of the previous decade and which were subsequently acquired by the Swiss company Ruag. The German government planned to repair them and send them to Ukraine, the newspaper reports. However, the situation has reached an impasse, as Ruag has been involved in a lawsuit with the Swiss government over the Leopard 1A5 for several months, so the tanks are still in Italy, writes Flight.
According to the publication, Germany was considering an alternative option for the possibility of supplying tanks to Ukraine. The FRG offered Greece to exchange up to 100 of their Leopard 1A5s on a one-for-one basis. Tanks received from Greece, Germany plans to transfer to Ukraine. At the same time, Berlin wants to buy back their Leopard 1A5s from Ruag, refurbish and upgrade them, and then transfer them to Athens, according to Flight.
The first batch of Leopard 1 tanks from Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands would be handed over to Ukraine in early May 2023, acting Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said on 11 March 2023. "We can expect to be able to deliver 80 to 90 tanks during 2023. They would be delivered continuously, because they need to be included in training activities with Ukrainian soldiers... Therefore, we believe that they will be delivered in large quantities from about the beginning of May until the end of the year," Poulsen was quoted as saying by Danish broadcaster.
In a joint statement 07 February 2023, the German economy and defense ministries announced the approval of up to 178 German-made Leopard 1 battle tanks to Ukraine. "How many Leopard 1A5 main battle tanks will actually be delivered to Ukraine depends on the required maintenance work," the statement added.
It came as part of a joint pledge with Denmark and the Netherlands. The defense ministers of the three countries said the tanks were part of an effort "to support Ukraine in their endeavour to withstand Russian aggression." In a joint statement, the three nations said the "required logistic support and training" would be provided. That includes a "spare parts and ammunition-package."
Joint Statement by the Defence Ministers of Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands:
We reaffirm our continued determination to support Ukraine in their endeavour to withstand Russian aggression. Together, in a joint initiative, we will significantly enhance Ukraine’s military potential for the restoration of their violated territorial integrity.
Within the coming months, Ukraine will receive at least 100 of LEOPARD 1 A5 battle tanks, including the required logistic support and training.
Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands are providing refurbished LEOPARD 1 A5 from industrial stocks; the first ones being delivered within a few months.
In doing so, we are guided by the needs of Ukraine. Our initiative includes training on the LEOPARD 1 A5 as well as a “spare parts and ammunition-packageâ€. The LEOPARD 1 A5 is a robust and assertive Western-designed main battle tank.
Our experts are currently working out the next steps together with the industry. Our "Leo 1 A5 Initiative" is open to further partners. So far, Belgium has also shown initial interest to participate.
This initiative will contribute to a substantial and sustainable strengthening of the Ukrainian armed forces and complement the efforts already underway to support Ukraine with LEOPARD 2 main battle tanks.
The Dutch defense ministry said it would be purchasing the tanks "directly from German industry." Kasja Ollongen, the Dutch defense minister, told national broadcaster NOS the slightly older model tanks are "definitely still useable" for the battlefields of Luhansk and Donetsk. "It's a tested tank, and because they're being tuned up and made ready for fighting, they will definitely be useful for the Ukrainians," she said.
Meanwhile, German vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck said that Ukraine should have a double-digit number of German-made Leopard 1 tanks at its disposal in the first quarter, adding it was unclear exactly how many of the authorized 178 tanks would be sent. "The numbers are there but they have to be refurbished for battle, re-equipped, so we don't know exactly how many," he told reporters after meeting US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan in Washington. "But it's a large number to repel Russia's spring offensive."
Germany can supply Ukraine with up to 160 Leopard 1 main battle tanks from industrial stocks. This was reported on 04 February 2023 by the Handelsblatt newspaper. The German defense concern Rheinmetall and the German company Flensburger Fahrzeugbau Gesellschaft mbH can repair most of their vehicles and make them available for export to Ukraine. As emphasized by FFG, it has 99 Leopard 1 tanks, and Rheinmetall has 88 more main battle tanks of this model.
However, according to Handelsblatt, it is not yet known when the tanks would be fully ready for shipment. Some of them are in poor condition. Their components could be used to repair other Leopard tanks, the publication concludes.
On 25 January 2023, the US authorities announced their intention to transfer 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Kyiv. On the same day, the German government confirmed that it would send 14 Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine and issue permission to other countries to re-export these vehicles. According to German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, Leopard 2 would be sent to Ukraine "until the end of March." Britain, Norway, Poland, Slovakia and France also announced their intention to provide Western-made tanks to Kyiv. Kyiv expects to receive up to 140 tanks from 12 states as the first batch.
The Leopard 1 is a modern second-generation German main battle tank. The first prototypes of the machine were created in 1961. The Leopard 1 tanks, the supply of which the German authorities agreed on for military assistance to Ukraine , differ substantially from the yhird generation Leopard 2 combat vehicles.
Leopard 1 is distinguished by the priority of mobility. Then it was believed that this was the main advantage of a combat vehicle. Security and firepower were given less priority. The armor also distinguishes them: the Leopard 2 has a combined frontal armor, while the Leopard 1 has a homogeneous one. Against modern anti-tank ammunition, the resistance of the Leopard 1 and other tanks of that generation is much lower.
The firepower is also lower, there is a 105-millimeter cannon, which is not suitable for fighting modern tanks. The Leopard 1 main gun of the old rifled design not only has very limited performance compared to modern smoothbore guns, but can only use 105mm projectiles. The Germans warned Kyiv that the condition of ammunition for these tanks is not only bad, but very bad, they are not being produced. Of course, a certain amount of ammunition is still stored in the warehouses and arsenals of both Germany itself and some European countries, but this would not improve the situation. The West switched to120 mm caliber 40 years ago. This type of ammunition is not available in Ukrainian warehouses.
It should be taken into account that the introduction of Western armored vehicles on the Ukrainian front would be accompanied by another, no less important, logistical “battle†for the speed of deliveries and the uninterrupted supply of ammunition, fuel and spare parts. It can be expected that even more people than are fighting would organize all this at the front.
Rheinmetall, a top German arms contractor, separately pledged to deliver a number of older Leopard 1 tanks to Kiev as well, procuring 88 retired vehicles from Italy. CEO Armin Papperger told the Rheinische Post newspaper on 04 March 2023 "... there are about 100 Leopard 1 old designs, of which we can make 88 serviceable".
The German defense concern Rheinmetall intended to buy 96 decommissioned Leopard 1A5 tanks from Switzerland in order to repair them and transfer them to Ukraine. This was reported on 04 March 2023 by the newspaper Tages Anzeiger. According to the publication, the Swiss defense concern Ruag acquired these tanks in Italy in 2016. At that time, Ruag expected to resell this military equipment in whole or in parts. "Rheinmetall has expressed its intention to buy these machines, bluntly stating that they plan to deliver them to Ukraine after repairs," the newspaper quoted a Ruag representative as saying. The Swiss State Secretariat for the Economy (SECO) vetoed the deal "for legal reasons." According to the newspaper, in principle, the deal can take place, but this would require changes in the country's legislation.
The Swiss government rejected a request to export 96 Leopard 1A5 tanks intended for delivery to Ukraine, it announced in a statement on Wednesday. The proposal was inconsistent with the European nation’s law and its neutrality principles, it explained. The request came on 27 June 2023 from the defense firm RUAG AG, to sell a specific group of tanks, currently in storage in Italy, and needed authorization from the Swiss Federal Council, the statement said. The plan was to have the older armor refurbished in Germany and then deliver the tanks to Ukraine.
“The Federal Council has concluded that the sale of the 96 tanks is not possible under the law as it stands,†the Swiss government said. RUAG is a Swiss-based and owned international defense company. It owns the Italy-based tanks, which are inoperable at the moment.
In May, Switzerland agreed to sell to Germany 25 Leopard 2 tanks that its military had mothballed, on the condition that they would not be sent to Ukraine. Despite this limitation, the deal with Rheinmetall AG, the original producer of the vehicles, was perceived by some observers as supporting the Ukrainian war effort. Germany was among donors of Western-made main battle tanks to Kiev as it was preparing for its counteroffensive against Russia. Getting such armor back from Switzerland potentially gives Berlin more leeway in sharing its own arsenal.
Bern had consistently vetoed requests from other nations, including Spain, Germany, and Denmark, to re-export Swiss-made military vehicles and ammunition to Ukraine. Moscow blamed NATO’s creeping expansion into Ukraine for provoking the ongoing crisis in the first place and has warned that by supplying increasingly advanced weapons to the country Western nations would prolong hostilities but would not change the outcome. Kiev's forces suffered heavy losses over the first three weeks of its counteroffensive.
In September 2023 both houses of the Swiss parliament approved the decommissioning of 25 Leopard 2 tanks to later sell them to Germany, the Swiss broadcaster reported on 26 September 2023. The decision on the actual resale and its timing was now up to the Federal Council, the broadcaster added. The Council of States of the Swiss parliament passed the decision earlier in the day with 25 votes in favor, 15 votes against and three abstentions. The National Council voted to decommission the tanks in June.
Ukraine in the coming weeks would receive several dozen Leopard 1 A5 tanks from Germany and Denmark. This was stated on 3 July 2023 in an interview with the Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita by German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, who was on a visit to Poland. "Dozens of Leopard 1 A5 battle tanks provided by Germany and Denmark will arrive in Ukraine in the coming weeks," he said.
Ukrainian troops had already used Leopard tanks in the course of the counter-offensive, which began on 4 June. The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation has repeatedly announced the destruction of tanks of this type. On June 27, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) had lost 259 tanks and 780 armored vehicles since the start of the counteroffensive.
The loss of several German tanks was recognized by the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valery Zaluzhny. In an interview with The Washington Post, he noted, in particular, that Ukraine "received tanks not for parades," and Leopard on the battlefield - "this is not a Leopard, but another target."
German Leopard 1 tanks will not be able to significantly help the Ukrainian army on the battlefield due to numerous shortcomings, the American Military Watch magazine reported 05 March 2023. "The Leopard 1’s main gun, an old rifled design, not only has a very limited performance compared to modern smoothbore guns, but can only employ 105mm rounds. This ordinance type was totally absent from Ukraine’s pre-war stocks, and is very scarcely available in the West due to the conversion to 120mm tank guns over 40 years ago. Soviet tanks converted to 125mm smoothbore guns from the 1960s....
"Even in its time, however, it was considered far from a top end vehicle particularly compared to the Soviet T-64 - which currently forms the backbone of Ukrainian armoured units. It’s successor there Leopard 2 has proven highly vulnerable in combat, taking heavy losses in Turkish hands again lightly armed Kurdish and Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq, leaving the viability of the much older and more vulnerable Leopard 1s in even greater question."
The Leopard 1 tanks were planned to be dispatched in spring, but won't be sent off until sometime in July due to technical issues, and even so they are prone to further delay, sapping Ukraine's counteroffensive, according to analysts. The joint Danish-German-Dutch donation of Leopard 1 tanks to Ukraine has been delayed due to a number of technical challenges, Denmark's Acting Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen announced 07 July 2023.
In the spring, Denmark teamed up with Germany and the Netherlands to gift at least 100 Leopard 1 tanks to Ukraine. The intention was that the first tanks would arrive in the spring — just in time for the vaunted "spring offensive," which never materialized until the start of June. "It is of course regrettable that we have not been able to deliver the expected number of Leopard 1 tanks to Ukraine. It is a large and important donation, but in connection with the renovation of the tanks, the two manufacturers have encountered a number of technical challenges, including the gun turret, which unfortunately means that right now we only have tanks for the training part," Troels Lund Poulsen said in a statement. He furthermore admitted "quality challenges" with the tanks were uncovered with the assistance of the German Ministry of Defense.
The first batch of renovated tanks should have been ready around April in order for the training to commence the same month. Now, the first tanks are expected to be sent off in the course of July, as previously announced by German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius. Royal Danish Defense College analyst Anders Puck Nielsen suggested that while the delay may seem insignificant now, it may snowball in the future, given the required training, and if they don't arrive before the autumn rains, the deliveries may turn out to be far less useful.
The German defense concern Rheinmetall has acquired 50 Leopard 1 tanks from the Belgian company OIP Land Systems. At present, the equipment must be re-equipped at the enterprises of the concern in Düsseldorf and subsequently sent to Ukraine. This was reported 08 August 2023 by the newspaper Handelsblatt , citing sources. Ultimately, as the newspaper notes, out of 50 tanks, about 30 pieces of equipment can be delivered to Ukraine. Initially, Rheinmetall planned to purchase Leopard 1 tanks from the Swiss defense company Ruag to make them available to Kyiv. Since Switzerland did not issue an export permit due to its neutrality law, Rheinmetall looked for alternative sources of supply.
In turn, the Belgian radio station Business AM , citing its own sources, said that Kiev would receive 50 Leopard 1 tanks decommissioned by the Belgian army, which were bought "at bargain prices" by an unnamed "third country". The tanks, according to the radio station, were in the warehouse of OIP Land Systems in Tournai, where they underwent initial restoration and were sold to an unnamed country. The Belgian government, according to her, "has nothing to do with this deal." The company notes that the tanks were purchased for "€15,000 apiece", in fact, at the price of scrap metal. Now, according to the radio station, they will be delivered to Ukraine via Italy and Germany, where they will be "installed new weapons along the way."
Rheinmetall is benefiting greatly from the conflict in Ukraine and expects double-digit turnover growth in the coming years. According to the newspaper Die Welt , the group received 18% more orders in 2022 than a year earlier. In June, the head of the company, Armin Papperger, told the ZDF television channel that his company expects to receive orders for a record € 15-20 billion this year.
Leopard 1 tanks supplied to Kyiv by Western countries have significant shortcomings. This opinion was expressed by the head of the German Military-Political Society in Berlin, Ralph Thiele, in an interview with Swiss Radio and Television (SRF) 08 September 2023. Asked if it would be ironic to say that the West is delivering scrap metal to Ukraine, he responded "If you want to say it mockingly, yes. If used incorrectly, even new systems turn into scrap metal. And we have old equipment that needs to be properly used in order to be useful, the analyst said, answering the question of whether the Leopard 1 tanks can be called scrap metal. that the West supplies to Ukraine.
Among the main shortcomings of the previous generation of German main tanks, Thiele pointed out weak side armor, low shooting accuracy compared to newer models, and the lack of a developed maintenance infrastructure. "This is due to the lack [in Ukraine] of production chains. There are no areas, no labor, no spare parts. This must be organized," he said.
"Old tanks are actually vulnerable because the enemy learns with them. He learns what weaknesses such an old tank has. These can be fought with mines or shelling. The old Leopard tanks are easy to fight, especially from the side, and their shooting quality is lower than that of the successor models... One piece of equipment, for example, a Leopard tank, will not lead to a turning point. Moreover, Ukraine does not have weapons systems for interaction [with tanks of this model]," Thiele summed up, speaking about the possible impact of the presence of the Leopard 1 APU on the course of combat actions in Ukraine.
Leopard 1 has a lot of disadvantages and can be used to protect the border with Belarus, where the threat of attack is currently minimal. Military-political observer of the Information Resistance group Alexander Kovalenko spoke about this on the FREEDOM TV channel 10 September 2023. Leopard 1 are cardboard tanks, useless armor that can be penetrated right through by an RPG-7 hand-held anti-tank grenade launcher, which can be penetrated even by a 30 mm automatic cannon. I dont understand at all the principle of sending us these tanks, if in a number of indicators they are even worse than the T-62 and even the T-54 and T-55 are a serious threat for them. These tanks can be considered to cover the Northern bridgehead this is the border with Belarus. But in general, we can now state that the threat from the territory of Belarus is minimal, he explained.
The expert noted that the only advantage of this tank is the 105-caliber cannon, but in modern warfare this advantage does not play a significant role. The only advantage of the Leopard 1 is their gun, their barrel. A good 105 mm caliber rifled barrel. For tanks, this is a sniper gun, which is a threat to modern T-72 and T-80 tanks and Russian armored personnel carriers (APCs), especially when entering vulnerable areas. But in modern warfare, a tank battle, a tank duel, is a rarity. And in most cases, tanks become victims as a result of an explosion on an anti-tank mine and if they fall victim to kamikaze drones or anti-tank missile systems. And all these means are a serious threat to Leopard 1, he explained.
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