The Danish Army does not operate a single Leopard 1A5, but it plans to deliver 20 MBTs to Ukraine
These tanks will be acquired from the German company FFG and will be repaired and returned to service
after which they will be sent to Ukraine
Interestingly, in 2010 the FFG acquired 100 Leopard 1A5 main battle tanks from Denmark to transform them and then resell them
The Danish Army had been operating Leopard 1s for a long time with the designation Leopard 1A3 since the 1970s
These tanks were upgraded to Leopard 1A5-DK
Denmark had 230 Leopard 1A5-DKs in service from 1993, until their retirement and complete replacement by the Leopard 2A5-DK tanks in 2005
The Leopard 1 tank, first entered service in 1965, is the predecessor of the more modern Leopard 2
Leopard 1 is considered to help the Ukrainian army somewhat revive the strength of the armored force
which has suffered great losses after the skirmishes with Russia
Leopard 1 was designed based on the fact that the tanks of the early Cold War could not withstand ATGMs with cumulative projectiles
so the designers decided to neglect the armor in favor of firepower, speed, and improved ground clearance
Leopard 1, only 40 tons in the original version, fast and maneuverable
and the British 105-mm gun Royal Ordnance L7 allowed it to feel quite confident on the battlefield of the time
The Leopard 1A5 is another upgrade from the 1980s. On the Leopard 1A5, a new 120-mm cannon was planned
Unfortunately, this option has not been used
Space in the hull was also modified to accommodate new ammunition and equipment
The Krupp-Atlas Elektronik EMES 18 fire control system, which is an evolution of the EMES 15 system used in Leopard 2
In addition, the Leopard 1A5 received new shells, including sub-caliber armor-piercing and new mounted ceramic armor
The first Leopard 1A5 models were adopted by the army in 1987
Compared with contemporary modern tanks, Leopard 1 is quite outdated
The weak 105-mm gun simply cannot break through the armor of the updated T-80BVM or T-90M, and weak armor will not withstand the shot of a 120-mm gun
But Leopard 1 can still be useful
The second armament of the Leopard 1A5 includes on 7.62mm coaxial machine gun mounted to the right of the main armament
A second 7.62mm caliber machine gun is mounted at the commander's or loader's station for anti-aircraft defense
Thanks to its high maneuverability, the Leopard 1 can be used as a tank support machine to destroy the ATGM crews that threaten tank columns
Leopard 1 can be used to hold secondary positions to free up more modern tanks for important areas
In addition, light tanks can be provided to Territorial Defense