Rheinmetall from Germany requests the delivery of Leopard 1A5 tanks to Ukraine.

According to information published by the German newspaper "Die Welt" website "on April 25, 2022, the company Rheinmetall from Germany has requested the German Government to deliver 88 Leopard 1A5 main battle tanks to Ukraine.
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German-made Leopard 1A5 Main Battle Tank MBT. (Picture source KMW)

On April 12, 2022, Army Recognition reported that the German company Rheinmetall offered to supply Leopard 1A5 main battle tanks to Ukraine. Earlier this week, Rheinmetall also submitted a request to the German government to deliver 100 Marder tracked armored IFVs (Infantry Fighting Vehicles) to Ukraine.

According to the German constitution, all arms sales must be approved by the national security council, which is chaired by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Other European countries including the Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia have already approved the delivery of Main Battle Tanks to Ukraine. All these countries are going to supply Soviet-made T-72 MBTs which are already used by the Ukrainian armed forces.

If Germany will be able to supply Leopard 1A5 MBTs to Ukraine, the Ukrainian soldiers will need a minimum of training to use the tanks on the battlefield as well as for the maintenance of the tanks which are totally different in terms of design from the Russian-made tanks.

The Leopard 1A5 MBT was the latest upgraded variant in the Leopard 1 family. the tank is fitted with a new modern fire control system and a fully effective night/bad-weather vision system. The Leopard 1A5 tank could also be fitted with bolt-on polycarbonate (Lexan) armor panels, which have increased the effectiveness of the armor. The first modified tank was delivered in early 1987.

The main armament of the Leopard 1A5 consists of one 105 mm L7A3 rifled tank gun which consists of a single-piece barrel with a screwed-on breech-ring and a bore evacuator. It can fire all the NATO standard 105 mm rounds of ammunition and a total of 60 rounds are carried inside the tanks with 42 ammunition stored in the hull and 18 in the turret. the second armament of the Leopard 1 includes one 7.62mm coaxial machine gun. Another 7.62mm machine is mounted at the commander's or loader's station.