Ukraine upgrades Leopard 1A5DK tanks with new armor to counter drones and anti-tank missiles.

According to information published on the official Facebook account of the Ukrainian Army's 142nd Separate Mechanized Brigade on June 26, 2025, the unit has been reinforced with Leopard 1A5DK tanks, a Danish-upgraded version of the German Leopard 1A5, which have undergone extensive field modifications. Originally delivered to Ukraine in September 2023, these tanks were part of a joint donation from Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands, with up to 100 Leopard 1 tanks pledged. Due to the Leopard 1’s limited protection capabilities, Ukrainian specialists have locally integrated advanced armor packages to enhance their protection against the evolving threats of the modern battlefield.
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Ukrainian Army Leopard 1A5DK tank of the 142nd Separate Mechanized Brigade upgraded with a locally made armor package including Kontakt-1 and Nizh reactive armor to enhance protection against FPV drones and modern anti-tank missiles. (Picture source: Facebook account 142nd Separate Mechanized Brigade)

The Leopard 1A5 is a Cold War-era main battle tank that prioritizes firepower and mobility over passive protection. Armed with a 105mm Royal Ordnance L7A3 rifled gun and enhanced with a computerized fire control system, laser rangefinder, and thermal imaging, the A5 variant offered considerable accuracy and engagement speed in its time. Its MTU MB 838 CaM 500 engine generates 830 horsepower, enabling a top road speed of 65 km/h and a combat range of 600 kilometers. These mobility features make the Leopard 1A5 suitable for rapid redeployment and maneuver warfare, a crucial asset in the fluid combat zones of Ukraine.

However, the Achilles’ heel of the Leopard 1A5DK remains its armor. Designed during an era when tanks were not expected to face top-attack or precision-guided weapons, the tank’s steel protection, with a maximum frontal thickness of around 70mm, is ineffective against modern threats such as tandem-charge RPGs, anti-tank guided missiles, loitering munitions, and FPV (First Person View) drones. These vulnerabilities necessitated immediate adaptation for survivability in Ukraine’s current combat environment.

To bridge this gap, Ukrainian engineers have undertaken a unique battlefield retrofit by mounting Kontakt-1 and Nizh explosive reactive armor (ERA) onto the Leopard 1A5DKs. Kontakt-1, developed in the Soviet Union, consists of explosive-filled boxes that detonate upon impact with a shaped charge, disrupting the molten jet and reducing penetration. Though dated, Kontakt-1 remains effective against legacy anti-tank weapons and has been installed on the tanks’ turret and turret roof.

In addition, Ukrainian forces have integrated Nizh ERA modules—locally developed and significantly more advanced. Nizh features a non-linear, multi-layered design that allows for better resistance to tandem warheads and minimizes collateral damage between adjacent ERA blocks. This provides more consistent multi-hit protection and is particularly valuable in protecting vulnerable zones such as the hull’s upper and lower front plates and side skirts.

To further strengthen defense against drone warfare, protective mesh screens and metal grilles have been mounted over key areas of the turret and engine deck. These passive measures can help detonate or deflect drone-borne munitions before impact, improving crew survivability and reducing internal damage.

This layered defensive solution represents a milestone in Ukraine’s ability to hybridize older Western platforms with indigenous armor technologies. By combining the Leopard 1A5’s mobility and targeting systems with modern protection measures, the Ukrainian Army has extended the viability of these legacy tanks in frontline operations. More importantly, this development illustrates a broader shift in armored warfare doctrine, where survivability now hinges on modular upgrades and the flexibility to counter asymmetric threats such as loitering munitions and drone swarms.

The adaptation of Leopard 1A5DK tanks by the 142nd Separate Mechanized Brigade demonstrates not only the resilience of Ukrainian military engineering but also the enduring utility of Cold War-era armor when intelligently modernized. It is a practical response to the challenges of today’s battlefield, where precision threats demand equally sophisticated countermeasures.